Neon Genesis Evangelion: Mother Issues
by Gregg Landsman
Summary: What does one do with a 200' tall biological cyber-superweapon? Anything it wants, really. The Tenth Angel is destroyed, and someone thought gone is returned. Episode 2 of the Father Knows Best series is complete. Author's Note added.
1. Chapter 1

Yadda Yadda Yadda. I do not own any of the characters, although I am aware I'm probably the first to try this particular spin. But I'm not being egotistical or anything about it.

This is the sequel to Father Knows Best. As for the current story, you can read the original, or I can sum it up as such:

Asuka's father is the Commander of NERV. Hilarity ensues.

* * *

It is by luck that her roommates do not draw excess attention to her vegetarian diet. Instead, the Commander goes as far as to create food from multiple pots, ensuring that no meat gets into her meals, and instructs others to do the same. Still, the Commander being the Commander, some caution must be taken.

"Good afternoon, Ayanami."

Red eyes meet golden red eyes. Sitting across from the lunch table from her, her newest coworker and fellow Pilot sits down, humming to himself as he unwraps his own lunch. Which, from the puddle forming under it is decidedly not vegan.

"I still believe we are the same," she says.

He looks up as he takes a bite from his sandwich.

"You mean, our albinism? That is obvious."

"No."

He puts down the sandwich, hands open in front of him.

"Ayanami, despite my appearance, I am normal," he says, "You have insisted I am, in order, an Alien, an Angel, and a mutant miniature Evangelion. It is nothing but a genetic condition. My blood runs the same as any normal persons."

Rei grabs her fork and stabs him in the hand. His scream echoes through the cafeteria, prompting many to turn to them, and at the other end of the table Class Representative Horaki turns to her friend.

"You've taught her well," she says.

Asuka Langely Sohryu beams.

"I know."

Pulling the fork from his hand, Kaworu Nagisa glares at his coworker and fellow pilot, his eyes showing less rage and more frustration. This is not the first time she has made him bleed. On the other hand, she has gone back to carefully picking at her meal, as if her assault on him never occurred.

"What do I have to do to convince you I'm human?!" he demands.

"Die."

He stares at her for a long moment, before quickly wrapping his sandwich.

"I…I will sit somewhere else."

And quickly, hurriedly, he moves to another table.

* * *

"So, what do we do with the self-aware two hundred foot tall biological superweapon?"

"Anything it wants."

Leather shoes clang on the metal catwalk as the two most powerful men in the Far East enter the Cage. The Cage, of course, is the nominal nickname of the holding area for the Evangelions, four two hundred foot tall cyborged superweapons that a few days ago prevented the wholesale extinction of the human race.

Kozou Fuyutsuki has seen many things over the years, and much of it would be, as a character in a fondly remembered American movie would put it, "shit that would turn you _white._"

But he is not sure that he will ever get used to Evangelion Unit 01, the giant purple, green piped, demonically visaged monstrosity, _staring at him._

"Okay, that is creepy."

Pieter Sohryu, Commander of NERV, pushes a hand through his reddish brown hair and pushes his glasses back up his nose.

He quickly walks over to his third in command, the bearded, glasses wearing man in a labcoat.

"Ikari, tell me."

Doctor Gendo Ikari, man in charge of Project E, pushes his tinted glasses up his nose.

"Around when the Third Child woke up," he says, once again not referring to his son by name, "Lieutenants Ibuki and Aoba were finishing a scan of Unit 01 for irregularities. Their scan was confirmed clean, but the Eva then apparently became self aware. Its first act was to turn to Lieutenant Ibuki upon her making a joke about it."

"Where are they?"

"She refuses to leave Doctor Akagi's office until she gets here. Lieutenant Aoba is in Central Dogma. He is…not disturbed. He says he, and I quote, 'expected something like this sooner or later.'"

"Yeah, I did to," Sohryu says, palming his face, "Can it speak?"

"It is sub-vocalizing. Evas have an incomplete larynx and no tongue, but we have installed a Bluetooth transmitter that allows it to speak through the speaker system."

Sohryu sighs, and turns to the Eva.

"I'm Commander Pieter Sohryu of NERV," he says, "Can you understand me?"

_"YES._"

The voice booms. The volume is enough to catch Sohryu off guard, and he turns to the glasses wearing Lieutenant Makato, who quickly works on a volume control at his console in the Cage.

"My apologies," he says, "But we are a little concerned. Please understand we do not have a good history with you acting on your own. The last time one of you acted independently, one of my pilots was nearly killed. Who are you, and what are you intentions?"

There is silence, as the Eva turns directly to him.

"_I. Am. Evangelion._"

It remains silent for a moment longer.

"_I. Will. Protect. My. Child."_

Something drops. Sohryu turns to find the clipboard Ikari was carrying has fallen to the floor and he is staring at the Eva in dumb shock. Fuyutsuki pushes past Sohryu, standing at the edge of the walkway, dangerously close to the Eva's jaws.

"Oh dear God," he says, "Yui?"

**

* * *

Neon Genesis Evangelion:**

**Mother Issues**

* * *

Somehow, life outside of piloting a giant monster is unbelievably boring. It has been close to a week since he saved the world, and in that week he has not been allowed back at school until every possible test they can throw at him comes back clean.

Shinji Ikari is bored.

Very.

Very.

Very.

Bored.

He and a warm water penguin are sitting on the futon, slumped down in their seats, watching television on what is actually a very nice flat screen teevee. Shinji has a soda in his hand, and the penguin, Pen Pen, has a beer. He isn't sure why a warm water penguin wants beer, but it most likely has something to do with the apartment's owner.

It isn't like he's _alone_ alone. Misato calls every couple of hours to check up. Kaworu is rooming in the other room, and he seems friendly enough. Then, of course, the other pilots stop by since as it turns out the Commander lives on the top floor of the apartment building.

In fact, the building is mainly filled with NERV staff. The city is a company town, and most of the people he runs into on the base live here.

He still doesn't know where his father lives.

He doesn't really care.

"_Wark._"

"I know."

Another flash before his eyes. Standing in the hand of Eva. A familiar voice pulling him back.

He blinks, shaking his head. No one has explained to him exactly what happened when Unit 01 went berserk during the Sixth Angel's attack. They only used key words.

_400% synchronization._

_Full awakening._

_Like the first pilot._

Only problem is, no one will tell him who the first pilot was, or what happened to him. No one gives him any answers, and he can't blame them. In the past few weeks, his entire world has flipped upside down, sideways and backwards.

Sighing, he gets up and walks to the kitchen. Just because he's confused doesn't override the fact that he's hungry, and he's lost track of the time. He pulls out the ingredients for a miso soup, glad that the sudden guardianship of two growing boys is enough to prompt Misato to stock the apartment with real food.

He quickly works, bringing the water to boil, and turns to find a bowl.

And comes face to face with Rei. Screaming in surprise, he slips on a hastily discarded hand towel and drops to the floor.

"How did you _do that?!_"

"I teleported in," Rei says, "The Commander gives me some allowances for my abilities in terms of swift travel."

Truth be told, he can't tell if she's joking or not, and…

Wait.

Wait a minute.

"You…you what?"

Rei tilts her head, face puzzled…and sighs.

"I see Asuka has not told you."

"Told me what," he asks, picking himself up off the floor, "I mean, I've talked with her, but most of the time I'm around her we're being shot at by Angels or being carted around by helicopters. She just told me you'd be helping train me."

"I see," she says, "I am the Commander's adopted daughter."

"I know that," Shinji says, turning off the burner, "Everyone told me that. You're also a pilot. What didn't Asuka tell me about?"

Rei's feet leave the floor. Not falling.

Floating.

Her eyes glow a soft red and her voice, when she speaks, reverberates.

"_I am also a Nephilem._"

And with the grace and fortitude of a sack of potatoes, Shinji faints.


	2. Chapter 2

A fist slams down on the wood desk, cracking the material and ending the bickering in the office. Doctor Ikari and Subcommander Fuyutsuki stop their arguing about the results of their tests and turn to the commander, who is standing and leaning on his desk as he glares at both of them.

"Tell me again," he says, "Tell me again and this time give me a different god damn answer!"

Ikari and Kozou look at each other and shrug. Taking his life into his hands, Ikari speaks.

"The tests are conclusive. The Eva does not believe it is the original pilot."

"As the two of us are the only people on the base with any intimate knowledge," Kozou continues, "We asked it details that she would know. Her answers pointed towards one conclusion. The original pilot of Unit 01 is not in control. Instead, it is the genetic basis of Unit 01 that is in control-"

"And that means we have a 200' tall superweapon in our basement that thinks it's _Lilith!_"

The scientist and the subcommander look at each other.

"Well…yes."

"We've gone a week without an Angel attack," Fuyutsuki interrupts, "We have time. We can examine it, and compare it to our notes in-"

"I dunno."

Sohryu sits back, putting his feet up on his desk.

"You're relieved, aren't you?"

Ikari narrows his eyes at Sohryu.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're relieved that it's Lilith," Sohryu continues, "And you should be! Because if that was the original pilot, I'm pretty sure she'd stomp you until you could be _mailed!_"

Kozou begins rubbing the bridge of his nose, wondering once more why he left academia.

* * *

He is a man of many talents, and the least of them is lockpicking. He identified the girl at the school. Her name was Sakura Hoshi, which was as generic an ethnic name as could be imagined. Most importantly, he recognized her from somewhere, and decided he had to investigate.

What was she?

An Angel?

Something else?

The lock releases and Kaworu Nagisa releases his held up breath, opening the door to the empty, Spartan apartment.

There is a chair, a desk, and a cot. On the desk is an empty fish tank, pieces of bone white stone laying on the bottom. Narrowing his eyes, the Fourth Child looks around, flashing the light on his key ring for visibility.

"Very. Very. Odd."

He looks around, finding on the other end a door. To a pantry or kitchen, perhaps.

Without hesitation, he opens it…

* * *

Once Ikari's accusation of 'pity promotion' and Sohryu's 'I have the moral high ground' speech came out, Kozou took his own executive privilege and activated the sleeping gas he had installed in Pieter's office against his knowledge.

As both of them are carted out by Section 2 to the infirmary, he sits in the chair, ramrod straight as he calls up reports and a holographic map of the world.

"Dr. Akagi, let's go over our resources."

A hologram of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi appears next to the sphere, holding an equally holographic pointer. She is in full uniform and lab coat, and for all he knows she's doing this in her pajamas. The advantage of holographic communication.

"_So far, we have four Evas in the Geofront,_" she says, the point on the map labeled Tokyo-3 glowing, "_Units 00, 01, 02 and 04. Unit 04 came with the prototype C-type heavy combat armor, and we are fabricating a prototype F-type close melee armor for Unit 01 to be deployed next month._"

The door to the office opens and Sohryu drags himself in, glaring at Kozou.

"Out of my chair."

Kozou stands next to the desk as Pieter slumps into his seat.

An area outside of Berlin, Germany glows.

_"Unit 05 is nearing completion in NERV-Germany, and the Child has completed training._"

"Which one was she," Pieter asks.

"Mari."

"Oh, joy. I so love the idea of her having ordinance."

_"Unit-03 will be completed in NERV-Ukraine in two months, and will be shipped to the Geofront for initial test activations. The next Marduk report will focus on the Child for Unit-03._"

The globe turns, homing in on the southwest North America.

"_Unit-06 has undergone preliminary construction. Along with the recovered material from Shamsiel, a reversed engineered S2 Engine will be testbedded in Unit-06_."

"And Unit 07 and 08?"

"_NERV-Polar and NERV-Luna, respectively…wait._"

The globe turns, turning to South America, to Brazil. A trail marks from the orbit to a point in Brazil as she stares at it and checks a data pad which appears in her hand.

"_Something's coming._"

* * *

01 [SOUND ONLY]: Gentlemen, behold. The defeat of the Angel of Thunder has called down the heavens themselves. Our instrument of reckoning has been delivered to us.

Sitting in his chair in the darkened office, the ancient man with the visor over his eyes grins.

"Indeed it has," he says, "With the tool that killed the Son of God, we shall forge our own."

* * *

As the light clears, Kaworu finds himself standing at the beginning of a golden pathway. The path stretches into the infinite, yet undaunted he walks. He can hear music as he walks the golden path, music he remembers and likes. The Ode to Joy plays in the air despite no source, and underneath him, he finds shapes.

Shapes separated by bubbles of orange light, forever alone.

"**You have returned. I have always known you would return.**"

There is a brighter light at the end of the path now. A destination to find, and despite the booming, male voice from nowhere, he walks faster.

"Very odd," he says, "Do you know me? Should I know you?"

"**I remember. I know all. But you do not. That is…interesting."**

Before him stands a golden tree. From its branches hand fruits of every kind and shape, glowing golden and silver in the unearthly light. Unbidden, unknown, a name escapes his lips.

"Raziel."

"**The Tree of Knowledge. For I have eaten of its fruit and I have become more. And you…you are different. Changed! Your place may indeed be different this in saga, as mine shall be!"**

Kaworu looks around, narrowing his eyes.

"Very well. My curiousity is piqued. Who are you?"

Everything turns black. All that remains for the long moment of the infinite is Kaworu Nagisa, staring into the darkness. And then there is light.

A light that becomes a massive metal grimace, one that should be attached to a body of terrible power and silver ribbons and might. Kaworu stares at it wide-eyed, taking in for a moment a strange familiarity…and dread. Dear, terrible dread as the voice booms, and five words announce the degree of change it has experienced.

"**I. AM. ALPHA. AND. OMEGA."**

* * *

She stops, seeing the entrance to her home open. Swearing under her breath, Sakura walks in, staring at the open closet door.

"Oh, you stupid son of a bitch…"

**

* * *

"THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ONE LIKE I BEFORE! THERE NEVER SHALL BE AGAIN!"**

The great grimace hovers before Kaworu, now attached to the bloated black and red body, the metal ribbons swirling about it as its eyes glow with each word.

"**This mighty body is my church! I am the beginning and I shall be the End that becomes the Beginning!**"

The orange globes containing other…things…hover around them, singing the Ode to Joy. The look on the face of the monster- of the Angel- could almost be called Orgasmic from the joy its ranting seems to bring it.

"**I have found it, do you see? I have found the Artifact needed for my completion! Do you not see what we can do? If the Lilim will not surrender to the Messengers, they SHALL COWER BEFORE THEIR GOD!**"

And then it hits him. A name, from somewhere long ago and at the same time in the distant tomorrow.

"Zeruel!"

**"Angel of MIGHT! Angel of SONG! I AM NOW MORE THAN EVER WAS OR SHALL BE! The Demon Children will crawl upon their knees and BEG before I cast them into a Hell without exit or end! My brother has shown me!**"

A golden light issues from beneath, and Kaworu finds himself being pulled back. The insane ranting of the Angel continues in his mind for some time, as he sees the Shadow falling upon Zeruel, and a familiar, painfully familiar voice.

"_Well…I think I recognize you. Or what is deep inside you, hiding, Kaworu Nagisa. So, let me ask you a question. It may be the most important question anyone ever asks you._

…

…

…

"_Do you want the power?_"

* * *

Kaworu opens his eyes and breathes deep, rolling onto his stomach and coughing, gagging. For some reason, he is back in his room, and slowly, painfully, the memories fade.

It could be seen from Rio De Janeiro despite being at least fifty miles outside of the city limits, but it is understandable as it is over a kilometer long and very easy to make out.

It is a rod, curled through the shaft and near the head forming into a lattice of red and violet resembling the structure of DNA. Its head is two prongs embedded in the ground.

The Lancea Longinius is silent, the red glow of its skin from having entered from orbit subsiding.

And today the dwellers of the city are in for another show, as a giant in black and white armor descends to it on solid black wings. Thrusters along its feet and back fire, slowing its descent into it lands next to the object with nary a sound.

* * *

"_This is Unit-08 to NERV Tokyo. I have the Lance in visual. I am preparing to retrieve it and bring it to NERV-LUNA._"

Asuka stands next to Misato in Central Dogma, the visual from satellite imagery creating a three dimensional hologram of the massive black and white Evangelion.

"You have a question," Misato sing songs.

"Yeah. Doctor Ikari said there were only four pilots. How come I've never met the pilot for Unit-08?"

Misato smirks, faintly.

"Well," Asuka asks.

"There are only four recognized pilots," Misato says, "Rei, Shinji, Kaworu, and you. We haven't chosen pilots for all the other Evas yet. We feed brainwave info into the constructed Evangelions and see if there's a chance they'll accept you. 00 accepted Rei, 02 accepted you, 01 accepted Shinji and 04 accepted Kaworu."

"Not answering the question," Asuka says, tapping her foot, "Who. Is. Piloting. Unit. Eight."

The other bridge officers a smirking, and Asuka quickly realizes that she is either being messed around with, or they are intentionally keeping a secret from her.

"Unit-08," Misato says, "You know the rules. We'd love to keep you around Earthside, but you know the risks."

"_I understand, Captain Katsuragi. I am returning to NERV-LUNA._"

On the hologram, Unit-08's thrusters fire and it ascends, leaving the atmosphere in minutes with the lance in its hands.

"Remember how Evas are basically artificially grown Angels?" Misato asks.

Asuka nods.

"Well, Unit-01's not the only case of an Eva becoming self aware and chatting with us. Unit-08, if you ever want to hold an actual conversation with him, goes by Hasdiel."

Asuka pauses, staring at Misato.

"That's an _Angel?_"

"I know. Took me some time to get used to it, to. I wouldn't even talk with him when they showed me him. But, he grows on you. We found him when we went back to the Moon following Second Impact, already in armor and saying, and I quote, that he wished to 'serve the Lilim', whatever the heck that means."

On the main monitor, the image of the six eyed, pug like face of Unit-08 goes dark.

"Since him being on Earth always has the risk of causing Third Impact if he ever finds whatever the Angels are looking for, he only comes to Earth for something as high risk as this."

Asuka scratches the back of her head, staring at the now blank screen.

"I can't believe we have a pet Angel…"

"That's how it goes," Misato says, patting her on the shoulder, "Welcome to NERV. God's in his Heaven, and you are _here._"


	3. Intermission

Rei sat Shinji down and explained the situation to him after he came to.

He nodded, not understanding much, outside of the fact that Rei _is not human_ and somehow was _created by his father._

All of this is certainly very interesting, but the part of Shinji's brain that accepts the impossible is currently dramatically struggling with the part of his brain that is in charge of bowel control.

"Shinji, are you hitting on my sister?"

_Oh great,_ he thinks, _Let's make this worse._

Asuka marches into the room, still in her school uniform. She and Rei begin talking, Rei very quietly and slowly, Asuka loudly. Of course, Asuka is not commenting on the fact that Rei is _floating, _cross legged, over the coffee table in front of him, and yes, Shinji is not using this as an excuse to stare at Rei's panties because he is a) not like that, and b) desperately trying to remain conscious.

"You neglected to tell Pilot Ikari of my origins," Rei says.

"Really? Well, _scheiss,_ you seem to be doing a good job now."

Asuka turns, as does Rei, albeit still floating, as the door to Kaworu's room opens and he stumbles out, staring at the two. He half-heartedly waves, not commenting on the floating girl, and walks over to the fridge.

"I don't get how you're not setting off alarms," Asuka says.

"My frequent use of my S2 organ has altered my metabolism. Many of my travel powers can now be used without accessing it."

"Well, I'm sure Dr. Akagi will love to hear that."

"I have already told Dr. Ikari. He was mildly surprised."

"Really? I didn't know you were still that close with the Old Man."

"I have been monitoring him closer now that Shinji has arrived, to see if there is any behavioral differences."

"And," Asuka asks, folding her arms.

"The Commander is egging him on more. Otherwise, I see very little difference."

Rei disappears, reappearing next to Shinji, floating over the couch next to him. Shinji does not move, tries not to breathe, as Asuka slumps down on the couch as well.

"Well, that's not surprising. Hey, Nagisa!"

Kaworu mutters under his breath, still drinking out of the milk carton.

"Pilot Sohryu, I would appreciate it if we could avoid our vendettas today," he sighs, "I've not been well."

"Oh, poor baby," Asuka mockingly says, waving him over, "You never met Ikari when in Germany, right? What's your opinion of him?"

The door swings open again.

"Hey, Ikari, you hitting on my girls?"

"Already used the line, Dad," Asuka says, turning to the door, "I forgot to tell him about Rei when we first met."

Commander Sohryu puts his uniform jacket over his arm as he walks to the couch, pulling up a chair and slumping down in it.

"Katsuragi's got a late night, so I delegated Kozou to run the ship. _Over the Rainbow's_ docking tomorrow and I'll have a late night. So, I've got you kids tonight, she has you tomorrow."

He turns to Shinji, a manic grin on his face.

"So, kid, whata'ya think?"

At this point, Shinji screams. The scream is loud, and wavering, his voice cracks a little during it and it lasts for nearly a minute and a half. His fellow pilots and penguin stare it him as he screams, and as it finally ends Shinji slumps a little in his seat.

"Yeah, when she started doing that it set off my weird shit-o-meter to," Sohryu says, patting Shinji on the cheek, "C'mon, let's go out to dinner! My treat!"


	4. Chapter 3

"So…nothing?"

Standing across from Sohryu's desk in his office, Ritsuko gives a knowing shrug, still holding the small book of printouts she has gone over in the past two weeks.

"Nothing," she responds, "No signs of Angel activity. And before you ask, I did contact Hadsiel, to. He doesn't know of any imminent Angel attacks, either."

Sohryu leans back in his seat, stroking his chin.

"Seems odd we'd get a breather."

"Can I offer a theory?"

"That's why I pay you, Doctor."

Rolling her eyes, Ritsuko sits on the edge of Sohryu's desk, adjusting her black blouse slightly and slamming down the book in front of him.

"The Angels are smarter than we give them credit for," she says, "Since they started appearing, it's been non strop. Sachiel was appearing as often as once every three days. After Unit 01 repelled it, Shamsiel appears two days later. Five days after that, we are attacked simultaneously by Gaghiel and Ramiel, with Sachiel also appearing. And now, nothing."

"Your theory?"

"They are re-assessing," she responds, "They're scared. Rei made mental contact with Ramiel. It was viewing us as an infection. Yet, an imitation Angel, Unit 01 in particular, manages to overpower it in the firepower department. Whatever remaining Angels, I think, are terrified. They're reorganizing."

"So they're looking for better cures," Sohryu groans, "I love that idea. I really do. Get me regular updates on Unit-03. If the Angels are getting more aggressive, I want as many Evas as humanly possible as close to the Geofront as we can fit."

The door to his office opens, and he sits up.

"Finally. Agent, good to see you in one piece!"

Chain on the suitcase making an odd scraping sound, the ponytail-sporting, casually dressed man with the permanent five o'clock shadow walks in with the eternally goofy grin on his face.

"Pieter," Kaji Ryoji says, "Always a pleasure. I read the most recent reports on my way in."

"The term's cluster f___, Kaji," Pieter groans, "Doctor, stay here. You're in on this, to."

Fumbling through his key ring, Kaji places the suitcase on the desk, releasing the handcuffs binding it to his wrist. Thumb print sensors on the locks come online, as Sohryu presses his thumbs against it.

Locks release, and the suitcase opens, bathing the three looking at it in a golden glow.

"You know, there's this old American movie," Kaji says, "They had a suitcase, and no one knew what was in it, just that it glowed. Some said it was a light bulb, or gold, or the soul of this gangster."

"But we know what this is," Sohryu says, reaching in, "This…"

He pulls out a small, golden rectangle, warm in his hand.

"This is the key to Terminal Dogma."

* * *

Two more weeks pass.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing.

And a purple and green foot leaves a massive imprint on the ground as Unit 01 speeds off into the distance.

"Okay, we're clocking 250 mph," Misato says, watching from the Osprey as it hovers over the expanse outside the Lop Desert, "And that's…maybe a light trot. Put some effort into it, Shinji!"

Inside the entry plug of Unit 01, Shinji mutters something inaudible under his breath.

It has been three days since they determined the now-aware Unit 01 was fit for duty, and with little prompting stuck him back into the cockpit.

He sends the thought to pump the legs faster. Physical activity, while not alien, was not something he ever relished before he joined NERV, so thinking about sprinting is still hard.

Outside the plug, Unit 01's legs pump harder, motions more dynamic as he picks up speed.

"Okay, that's all the way up to 350," Misato says, scratching her head, "Man, we need to get him a trainer or something."

"The Eva did break the sound barrier," Akagi sighs, sitting next to her while looking at her laptop, "Of course, it was in a berserker while doing so, but still. It is within the capabilities built into it."

"Capabilities we know little about."

"But learning more about, every day."

* * *

Two more weeks pass.

"You're. _Fired._"

Gendo Ikari does not bother to even raise an eyebrow as the Commander's rant concludes. Kozou is standing just out of Sohryu's line of sight and looking a cross between bemused and mortified, and the results of the annual Marduk report is scattered on the desk.

"I am only the messenger, Pieter," Gendo says.

"Oh, we're on a first name basis, now? Cause right now the reason you're here is because the people who _run_ the Marduk report know I'm going to come after them."

"You and I both know that neither of us can influence the results of the report," Ikari says, picking up the discarded folder, "Fact: The report states that this Child is the sole person able to fully sync with Unit 03. Fact: While some cross-synchronization is possible between units, we cannot risk failing Evas in case of another Angel attack, especially if they come more powerful than Ramiel."

Sohryu slumps down in his seat, growling Germanic swears.

"Fine. Alright."

He pulls up a page, the one with the pilot's face.

"We don't make it official until Unit 03 is on its way here. If this gets out earlier, my daughter's going to _kill me._"

* * *

It was his birthday today, but Shinji didn't tell anyone. He was fifteen, but he didn't see a need to make a big deal of it. Instead, he spent some of the morning in sync tests with Unit 01, had lunch from a box he made, and is now waiting for an all-clear so he can get back to school.

Sure, life's better than it was a few months ago, but it doesn't necessarily mean he has to enjoy it.

He just saved the world.

It isn't going to get better than that.

He looks up as the elevator doors open and his eyes go wide as he sees the other passenger, quickly stepping in and standing a good distance from his father, who himself barely gives him a glance as the doors close and the elevator speeds up.

And then stops. Violently. Shinji is nearly thrown off his feet as the lights go out, and he hears his father muttering swears.

"What's wrong," he asks, pressing the button for the intercom.

"_It's a base-wide blackout, Doctor. We'll have it back up as soon as we can._"

"…thank you, Maya."

Emergency lights come on in the elevator, and grunting, Gendo taps the wall and a set of seat cushions fold out.

"We had these installed just in case," he says, sitting down.

Hesitantly, Shinji sits.

They wait in silence for a few moments, Shinji looking down, Gendo sitting with his arms folded…

"You never told Captain Katsuragi today was your birthday."

Shinji turns to his father with a start.

* * *

In the school, Rei's eyes open with a start. She turns to Asuka, sitting in the desk next to her, and shakes her shoulder.

"What," Asuka asks.

"Something is here," Rei responds.

* * *

"I regularly read the reports Katsuragi forwards to the Commander about your progress," Gendo says, his newspaper folded and on the floor, "It is good to see that you are making progress. She seems to have been a good choice for your guardian."

Shinji nods, silently, and then turns to his father.

"You never asked for me?"

"I would have been a poor choice," Gendo responds, face unreadable, "Shinji, sooner, rather than later, you will have to stand on your own two feet. The world is harsh, yes, but we can survive in it if we learn not just to rely on others, but ourselves."

They go silent for a while, both taking almost identical poses, with their hands folded in their laps and looking down.

"My uncle never really talked about you two," Shinji says.

"I know. He took your mothers death as hard as I did."

"I…I don't remember her, Father."

Gendo nods, the beginnings of a smile on his lips.

"My father was absent for most of my life," he says, "When he was there, I wish he was gone. He never gave me these talks, and I think it would have helped, but…Your mother was not the first woman I was involved with, but she was the one I loved the most. She was brilliant, charming. Energetic. She had an answer to everything and a way of…moving a crowd. She brought me out of my shell. I was once much like you."

Shinji stares at his father in astonishment.

"Believe it or not," he says, "And when she died, I was incapable of taking care of myself, much less you."

Hands still folded in his lap, he takes a deep breath.

"What you will learn is that no one is perfect. I have been called, favorably, a workaholic. One of the reasons that I did not ask you to live with me is because I keep a very small, very messy apartment which I am in maybe a few times a week. On the other hand, you have a guardian and room mates, and most importantly other people to talk to."

"Right…the Fourth…I mean, Kaworu is moved into our apartment."

"He is as extroverted as you are introverted. Do you get along with him?"

"Yeah. He's very friendly."

"Good," Gendo says with a small grin, "He has always been like that. He was like that in Germany. The Second Child was not as accepting of it."

Shinji shudders.

"I could imagine…"

"Everyone who works at NERV has had some past they have overcome. Our past does not weaken us. It makes us stronger if we accept it. Despite the fact that we do not talk that much…"

He takes a breath, folding his hands into a bridge over his mouth.

"I am pleased to see you do not hold our past against me."

The lights flicker on and the elevator starts moving again.

* * *

"I don't like this," Sohryu says, walking along the labyrinthine, dimly lit corridors miles beneath the surface, "You're telling me the MAGI has no idea why the base blacked out?"

Walking right behind him, Ritsuko shrugs. She finds herself doing this a lot, lately.

"For all we know, an Angel took the form of a computer virus."

"I love that idea, Doctor. I really do."

They walk through the catwalks, security cameras recording every steps, a security system designed to keep out everything all the way down to bacteria letting them through.

"Truth is, despite being chief maintainer, Maya and I are not the supreme experts on the system," Ritsuko says, folders of notes under her arm, "I just helped implement the system. I quizzed the maintainers of MAGI-2 in MIT, but they're also at a loss."

He nods, hopping past a small, worn gap in the catwalk, taking Ritsuko's hand and helping her across.

"As much as I love mysteries, Doctor, this is not one I want to wait to the end to solve. Consider it priority one to get to the bottom of it."

"Of course. I'll file it with all the other priority ones I have, Pieter."

He snorts, grinning.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a better sense of humor than I expected?"

"Are you flirting with me?"

"Of course not. Maya would kill me if I tried anything."

The massive, armored doors stand between them, and Pieter walks forward. Lasers scan his facial features, running over his entire form, before a set of sensors attach themselves to his hands and face.

_"Retinal and thumb prints confirmed. Welcome to Terminal Dogma, Commander Sohryu."_

The doors grind open, a soft gold light playing over the hallway.

"Besides which," Pieter continues, "I keep hearing rumors about you and Ikari."

"God no," Ritsuko coughs, "I've made enough of my mother's mistakes, thank you."

She grins, slightly.

"Besides, Maya will kill him if he tries anything."

"_COMMANDER, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION FROM NERV-LUNA._"

They both wince at the sheer volume of Makato's announcement, Ritsuko shrugging at Sohryu as they both turn to the overhead speakers.

"Thank you, Lieutenant! Patch him through to Terminal Dogma's speakers."

The sound is replaced by the droning, heavy breathing.

"Hadsiel?"

"_Commander. It is imperative that I meet with the Third Child._"

Sohryu rubs the bridge of his nose, nodding.

"Right. I'll have a secure communication line set up between-"

"_No._"

Sohryu and Akagi stare at each other, then turn back to the speaker.

"I'm sorry," he asks.

"_It is imperative that I meet with him in person. The Third Child must come to the Moon."_


	5. Chapter 4

The point where the entire thing went complete to Hell was when Israfel was at the point of almost complete defeat from the combined assault. The Angel, the Twin Angel, had recombined. At some point, it realized the fight was lost.

The Lilim had outwitted it.

It prepared to end itself, to end its existence.

And then, He appeared.

In a flutter of shadow, floating above him, His voice heard by all and speaking unknowable dread.

And He asked Israfel a question.

"_Do you want the power?_"

Well, we're getting ahead of ourselves. That's almost a month into the future.

* * *

Spotlights shine underneath it, giving the purple and green Unit 01 a sort of unearthly glow. As if it needed any help being monstrous.

Standing in his plugsuit, Shinji stares at it, more than a little uneasy. He has to go to the Moon. That is as much as he understands. Unit 08, which turns out to be NERV's pet housebroken _Angel_, wants to speak with him.

Somehow, he's going to take his Eva 250,000 miles away from everything he knows.

Maybe, he'll make it home.

"Nervous?"

He turns, finding Asuka approaching him. She's in her school uniform, and he can see Kaworu and Rei off in the distance.

"I…a little. I never really travel that much."

Asuka snorts.

"Finally."

"Finally what?" he asks.

"Finally, you make a joke."

He pauses, staring at her…and he smiles, faintly, some of the tension leaving him.

* * *

"_Okay, we were just told to get you into the Eva and wait,_" Misato says through the vid screen in Shinji's right eye, "_And we're…whoa. That's new._"

A small series of bubbles floats through Shinji's field of vision as the entire Eva rocks forward, and he blushes in embarrassment. Everything glows outside the Eva. The lights, the air, the armor itself.

"_Unit-08 has just commandeered the Eva,_" Maya says, appearing in another screen, "_AT Field is deployed! I'm reading a light warp around Unit-01! Light, heat, gamma and-_"

The screens go blank. The world around the Entry Plug goes black. And then he sees it, feels it as he's pressed down against his seat and he gives off a surprised yelp-

* * *

And Unit 01 goes shooting into the sky.

Sohryu whistles from the remote setup nearby, watching it go, before turning to Maya.

"What just happened?"

"Unit 01's AT field disconnected it from the Earth's gravitational field," she says, staring at the code on the screen, "At it's current speed, it will touch down on the moon in one minute."

He turns to Ikari next.

"We fitted Unit 01 with a modified version of the C-type power pack," Gendo responds, staring at the moon, "It has four hours of power. There are power lines on the Moon, though. Shinji isn't in danger."

Sohryu grins, nodding.

"About damn time," he says, slapping Ikari on the shoulder.

Ikari stares at him for a moment…and sighs, shaking his head, before pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Pieter, there is something I need to talk with you about," he says, leading Sohryu from the command center, "I have been in touch with an expert on some matters. He has a proposal for you…"

* * *

The screaming in the Entry Plug did not last as long as he thought it would. Sadly, he realizes he is getting used to it, as the blue sky of Earth accelerates downward, eventually replaced by the black starlight sky of Space.

He wills Eva to look up, and sees the Moon, the Eva twisting and slamming full force and feet first, sending up debris for nearly half a mile into the air.

Eva stands. Shinji looks around, and for the first time in nearly three months…he wonders. He looks out upon the quiet expanse, where lunar hills roll into the distance, where everything is white and gray and quiet.

Peaceful. Not just quiet, but peaceful, as the soft light reflects on the unmoving, unchanging surface. Light, not from the Sun, though.

Willing Eva to look up, he wills it to bring up its hand. Earth shines down, and Shinji holds it in his hand, all the horrors forgotten, for a moment.

All of it washed away by perfect, tranquil beauty.

"Why did we ever stop coming here," he asks no one in particular.

A signal chimes in his right eye, pinpoint his destination. Grinning to himself, he grips the butterfly controls and wills the Evangelion on.

* * *

"Getting telemetry from the plug. Brain chemistry is reading heightened serotonin levels, alpha brainwaves are on the rise."

Standing behind Maya, Misato raises an eyebrow, turning to Akagi.

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's enjoying himself."

* * *

Vaulting over lunar dunes, he gets the chance to stretch his legs. It is lighter here. Freer here. The Eva rumbles in barely suppressed joy as it runs through the valleys of the moon, the advancing darkness of the dark side of the moon in the distance.

Legs pumping, hands white on the handles of the controls and his face split in a toothy grin, Shinji races the night.

He is everything here. No commands can reach him, no angels attempting to kill him. Alone with his chariot, the Earth shining down, there is only the run and the destination, leaving footprints far larger than the original lunar lander in the moon soil.

It is sad, then, when he finds the great dome many times the size of Eva. Slowing to a walk, the dome opens, and as he walks in Eva takes a deep breath of recycled air, atmosphere sealing as unbidden, it bends to one knee as automatic hands attach a power line to the back.

The Entry Plug spins out, draining LCL into the Eva, and as Shinji walks out a field runs over him, removing the rank smell and traces of the material, dressing him in a long jacket against the cold, before lighting a long pathway around the domed Eva cage.

Walking quietly along it, he looks around, exiting the room. Everything is white and smooth. He can't find a source for the light, but more importantly he sees no people. He can't figure why NERV would have an unmanned facility, considering how expensive such a thing has to be.

But, then again, NERV doesn't seem to be too concerned with money.

The path ends in another dome, and Shinji looks up at the clear ceiling, a full view of Earth hovering above. He relaxes, leaning against the railing…

And comes face to face with him. He stands as tall as the Eva, standing in the middle of the room, his skin gray and leathery, with two massive wings sprouted from his shoulders and four eyes in a diamond shape on his head, with two extra on the side.

"_Hello, Shinji._"

When he speaks, the sound he makes is not in sync with his lips moving.

He is genderless, but lean and strong, the black and white armor discarded on the floor, and in his hand he is holding a goblet several times as big as Shinji filled with something resembling wine.

"_I am Hadsiel,_" he says, "_I am the Angel of Benevolence. I have summoned you to the moon so we may talk."_

* * *

Sneaking through the offices with the skill he has developed over long years of being unnoticed, Agent Kaji finds himself right where he needs to be, no one else the wiser. Slowly, silently, he sneaks upon his prey, hands at the ready as he approaches his target…

"How about a backrub?"

"How about I kick your ass?" Misato responds, hunched over her desk and paperwork.

He backs away, a little.

"Any word on the intrepid lunar explorer," Kaji asks, leaning on a file cabinet.

"No, but he'll contact us if there's an emergency."

He pulls up the spare chair next to her desk, plopping into it, hands laced behind his head as he attempts a good angle to see her face.

"I see you pried yourself away from Asuka," she continues.

"She's a sweet girl, but honestly doesn't believe she's fourteen."

"Fifteen. She turned fifteen last week. And apparently, so did Shinji."

Kaji whistles, cracking a small grin.

"I'm going to tie him down and water torture him until he gives me all the information he hasn't told me," she continues, writing reports as she rants, "Or lock him in a room with Kaworu until some of that…cheerfulness rubs off on him."

She stabs the pen into the desk, turning to him, face red.

"How the hell do I help him if he keeps shit like this from me?"

"You're not his mother," he says, sitting up.

"_I know that!_ I'm just…trying to help. You've read Shinji's records, right?"

"He's had a tough life," Kaji responds, "From what I've been told, he doesn't remember the worst of it. He's repressed his memories, and if I can throw in some dime store psychology, that's probably why he doesn't connect with you as much as you want him to."

"Everyone here has mother issues," Misato groans, turning back to her desk, "You, me, Ritz. Everyone."

"He's different," Kaji responds, "I can tell him. Maybe that'll help. He doesn't know me yet, so he'll believe it coming from me. I tell him the truth, I tell him what happened, maybe it'll help. But I can't guarantee it'll make things better."

He gets up, straightening his jacket.

"Okay," she says, "If you think that'll help."

"Help? I can't say."

Kaji grimaces, squeezing her shoulder.

"How do you think _you_ would react if someone told you that you watched your own mother die?"

* * *

"The Moon?"

Sitting at the lunch table, Asuka has almost a level of detachment as she picks at her lunch, not returning Hikari's gaze.

"Yep."

"Shinji…is on the Moon."

"Yeah. NERV has a base there, and they wanted Shinji for a few days. No one can explain to me how he got up there, so I think the Docs are making up words to cover for them not havin' a clue."

Hikari smirks, picking at her lunch box, the pig tailed girl smiling wider as Asuka's face flushes.

"Stop that."

"Is that concern I hear, Asuka?"

"It's not like that," Asuka responds, "I don't _like_ him. He's one of my pilots."

"You're sympathetic."

"If my Eva ate me to save my life and I had the crapsack life he did, anyone'd be sympathetic," Asuka says, rolling her eyes, "Okay, last month Rei showed Shinji what she can do. He _freaked out._"

"No offense, but Rei freaks a lot of people out."

Asuka shrugs.

"She is what she is. I guess…I guess it's good to have someone who didn't _grow up_ in NERV here, so he's got the outsider perspective, but he…I dunno. Sometimes I wonder when he'll just pack up and move away."

She goes silent, staring at her foot. Her interest in it gone, she closes the box, tenting her hands as she stares at the table.

"He cracked a joke for the first time yesterday. It's been two months, and that's the first time I saw him smile."

"Asuka-"

"I _chewed him out_ when he nearly got himself killed with that diamond-Angel. He hadn't said two words to me since, and…I dunno."

Hikari's shoulders slump.

"Did you apologize?"

Asuka stares at her.

"I'll take that as a 'no'. Then that's the _first thing you do when he gets back._ Speaking of missing people…where's Rei?"

* * *

Keys clicking, Ritsuko Akagi glares at the computer monitor as her patient redressed behind her. This part of the job is the most frustrating, by far. Scientists like few things less than being brilliant experts in a field, and then despite all efforts being completely, irrevocably, stumped.

"Rei, unfortunately I can't give you an idea of what mutations will happen from here," she says, sliding the keyboard back under her desk, "Each time you use your S2 organ, it causes another change, but I can't say what."

She turns the chair, finding Rei sitting on the examination table, fully clothed in her school uniform.

"Rei, the situation is that you are complete unique," Ritsuko continues, "Outside of the Dummy Plug system, there is nothing on Earth exactly like you. And even then, you are quite different from any of the backups."

"I understand," Rei quietly responds.

"And before you suggest it, I will not dissect the Fourth Child. Despite your beliefs, there is no evidence as of yet that he's a Nephilem. Do please keep prodding him, though."

Rei gives off a small grin, nodding.

"Good girl," Ritsuko says, "You've been doing very well, Rei. The Commander will be pleased to hear this."

Rei nods, standing up and off the table.

"Dr. Akagi?"

"Yes, Rei?"

"Thank you."

Rei walks out, silently. Sitting in her chair for a long moment, Ritsuko sighs, shoulders slumped as she turns back to the computer. She stares at the screen, before taking off her glasses and cupping her hands around her mouth.

She stays like that for some time after.

* * *

The drones manning the base escorted him to a white room, and despite the ever-present light Shinji fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He woke up after the most restful sleep he's ever had, was served a breakfast he can't recall the details of but knew it was incredible, and was dressed in a white shirt and pants.

He's walking barefoot in a dome on the surface of the Moon, and is sitting in a chair in front of a seated Angel.

He lets that sink in for a few minutes.

"_I have summoned you here to speak with you, Shinji,_" Hadsiel says, "_Of the future. Of the Angels. We are numerous, but not all of us hate the Lilim. There may come a day when you must call upon the other Angels, and you must not blame them all for the actions of a few._"

"How many Angels are there," Shinji asks.

"_Beyond number._"

Shinji stares at Hadsiel for a moment, trying to process that statement.

"_All this has happened before. It may happen again. You will learn much in the coming months, but there are others who will manipulate you for their goals. Never forget not who you are, but what you can be._"

"I don't understand."

"_You will. In time. But for now, I must tell you something. Soon, but I cannot say when, one of your friends will die._"

He sits up straight at that statement, staring at the Angel.

"_And then, it will be up to you to prevent the end of everything._"

* * *

Kaworu turns in the elevator as Fuyutsuki and Sohryu board it, walking back into the corner and lightly humming to himself.

"_COMMANDERS TO CENTRAL DOGMA IMMEDIATELY._"

They both wince.

"Can we please have someone fix the volume on Lieutenant Makato's console," Kozou asks, pressing the button for the bridge.

"I'll put that into the next budget meeting," Sohryu deadpans, "I think Ikari's going over my head. He's been unusually knowledgeable about the MAGI."

"You think he's talking to an expert."

"An expert I had kicked out. I don't like it, Kozou."

"Gendo is passionate, but I doubt he's out to harm you. I'd worry more about the Old Men. We all have the same goals, here."

Sohryu pushes his glasses up his nose, grunting.

"Yeah, yeah. Then again, I'm pretty sure that this is a false alarm. How many false signals has MAGI been giving us, lately?"

"Four so far. I do not think an Angel can sneak up on us."

Kaworu sneezes.

"Bless you," Kozou says, "Pilot Nagisa, I understand Rei has been…"

"Rei is under the impression I am an Angel," he says, "Because we are both albino."

"I'm pretty sure Asuka's putting her up to it," Sohryu says with a grin, "I'll talk with her. I see you're keeping a distance from her."

"I am wise to do so," Kaworu says, as the doors to Central Dogma open and they walk through.

The first thing Sohryu sees is Rei, who quickly walks to him. There is a twitch in her eye, and she quickly walks behind him. Then it hits him.

She's scared. She's frightened. Only one thing, one person can scare her. Walking quickly down the stairs and past his desk, he sees Akagi, who has an honestly innocent expression on her face and shrugs.

"It's not me," she says, "Pieter, I don't know how she-"

"_Ikari!_"

From the volume and vehemence of the yell, the Bridge Bunnies wince and turn back, wisely to their consoles. Gendo sighs, stands up from the open duct, and turns to take his medicine.

"Pieter, let me explain-"

"Get her _out of my base!"_ Sohryu growls, "Ritsuko, get Rei out of here!"

"I needed an expert on the MAGI malfunctions-"

Pieter glares at Gendo. While Ikari's glares, his stares, are known for their intimidation, there is an anger behind Sohryu's that makes Ikari stop in mid statement. This would not be the first time Sohryu's hauled off and punched someone. While it's known that the Second Child inherits her mother's intelligence, it's assumed that she inherits her father's temper.

"Damn it, what's with the commotion," a voice says from inside the duct, "Gendo, I need a spanner, something to clean out these cobwebs and some sort of screwdriver for the ventral access…"

Midway through crawling out of the duct, the unwelcome visitor locks eyes with Sohryu. Seeing the sheer anger and shrugging it off, she crawls out and climbs to her feet, rolling her shoulders. She is dressed in a blouse and pants, not even bothering with the lab coat or pearls she did in her younger years, and despite not looking that much older than Ritsuko, she has a few lines of gray in her brown hair and some crows feet on the eyes.

"Well, Pieter Sohryu," Naoko Akagi says, "Want to hear my advice?"

And Lieutenants Aoba and Makato are already up to hold back Sohryu from slugging her.


	6. Breakdown

The gray giant Hadsiel hefts up the violet spear with both hands, walking the final distance of the depths of NERV-LUNA as the air around him vibrates with music. It is alien and human at the same time, relaxing and terrifying. It is for this reason he did not have Shinji accompany him, for this is not yet ready for the child to see.

At the end of the great tunnel, at the heart of the Moon, it waits. A great, white giant, severed at the torso with human limbs flailing out, watching beneath a seven eyes mask. Crucified upon a tesseract, she watches, silently, as Hadsiel brings up the spear.

"_Forgive us, Mother. What we do is only to buy time for your children._"

And he plunges the spear into Lilith's chest.

* * *

Cluster-F___. That is the single best word to describe the current situation. Her mother is a few seconds behind her as Ritsuko walks into her office, where she had Section 2 escort Rei. Unfortunately, none of the Agents are there at the door waiting for her…

"Damn it, I said drop her off, not keep her…"

She swings the door open…and stops. Her eyes go wide as she surveys the inside of her office. The examination table is ripped off of its supports and on the other side of the room. There are grooves in her metal desk shaped like fingers…like the fingers of a fifteen year old girl.

Every piece of glass has at least one crack running along it.

And the worst part is that Rei is gone.

"Dear God what happened here?"

Naoko Akagi folds her arms and twists her lip, looking around the lab and turning back to her daughter.

"This is bad," Ritsuko says, dashing over to the phone on her desk, picking it up and slamming down numbers, "Maya? This is very important. I need you to start scanning for blue patterns in the base and inside Tokyo-3 _immediately._ Have Section 2 start a Priority search for the First Child, now!"

She slams down the phone before getting any confirmation, rummaging through a medicine cabinet, taking out a hypospray, and slamming home a cartridge.

"Ritsuko, talk to Pieter. I need access for-"

"You need to shut up, _Mother,_" Ritsuko snaps.

"How dare y-"

"Not. Now," Ritsuko shouts, glaring at her, "Right now I have a fifteen year old girl with a functional S2 organ having a _panic attack!_ So either shut up and _help me_ or _sit down!_"

* * *

It is with much trepidation that Shinji approaches Eva, the Entry Plug prepped for him. It is the final part of the journey here. To really understand the lessons, to truly know what he has to know, he once more has to take a journey into the subconscious.

Climbing into the Plug, he finds the clothes Hadsiel provided him with to be quite comfortable even in the LCL, sitting in his seat and finding a box underneath the controls, with instructions to open later.

Smiling, he leans back in his chair and closes his eyes.

And falling asleep, his mind enters the Evangelion.

* * *

Section 2 is in full panic mode, but Kaworu knows they are going to be a step too late at every turn. A child, they can keep up with. Assassins, they can stop. People, they can contain. But their target can teleport hundreds of feet at a time, and they are only human.

He walks hurriedly. He knows that if he runs, she will sense it and leave, and then he'll have to find her again.

The women's restroom. He may be taking his fate into his own hands…but he hears the sounds in there. Most likely, anyone else has been scared off.

He gently pushes open the door, peaking his head in. Slowly, stealthily, he walks in, as the water from the ruptured pipes makes the floor slick, puddles formed near the drainage holes.

A sink is lying near his feet, grooves in the linoleum.

When she punches the door of one of the stalls, the metal caves in. The hinges tear, the door hangs at an angle. She is pacing, her hands clenching and unclenching, alternatively gripping her hair and forming fists.

"Ayanami," Kaworu asks.

She does not respond, stumbling over to the wall, leaning against it, and then slamming her fist all the way into the elbow through the tile. His breath catches in his throat but his face does not show fear.

Fear would be bad. Not for him, because it is natural. Anyone else right now should be terrified.

Anyone else would only make this worse.

"Ayanami," he says, taking a slow, deliberate step forward, "Please. Calm down."

She rips a hand dryer off the wall without any visible effort, stumbling about as if in a stupor. Years of emotional training drop away, her eyes unfocused and her breathing ragged from what he can tell is a moment of pure, stark terror.

There are rips at the collar of her uniform. He sees blood on the tips of her fingers. She pounds on a toilet stall door until her knuckles leave bloody marks. Resting against it, her chest hitches and her shoulders shake, and she stumbles back before grabbing her hair and _screaming._

The force of it pushes Kaworu back. The mirror that stretches the wall above the sinks crack down the middle. Tile begins falling off the wall and a light fixture crackles, fizzles, and dies.

"Rei!"

She turns. Her eyes are wide, her face not even resembling the unemotional mask she normally wears. Tears start streaming down as he slowly, calmly approaches her, hands out, palms up.

"I'm here," he says, slowly, carefully crossing the distance as she stands completely still, save for the occasional shiver and quivering of her lip, "It's all right. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you. Please, just focus on my voice."

He knows, if he messes this up, she will simply vanish and they'll start all over again. Or perhaps activate her S2 organ and level the entire Geofront.

"I know you are scared," he says, voice barely above a whisper, "You can tell me why later. Just please, listen to my voice."

He gently, very, very gently, places his hands on her arms. He can feel her shaking, feel a heartbeat that is far too fast to be healthy. Her breathing, as it is, is deep and ragged, and her chest is hitching. Her voice breaking, she lunges at him. Her hands grab his shirt as she buries her face in his chest, her breathing now accompanied by hard, sharp sobs and scratchy screams.

He wraps his arms around her, pulling her close, slowly lowering them both to the floor as he presses his nose in her hair.

He whispers reassurances to her, listening as her cries and breathing dies down, waiting for her physical exhaustion to catch up with her emotional exhaustion. She barely moves as the two sit down on the wet floor of the bathroom, her face buried in his shirt, her hands still gripping the material.

He releases one of his arms, fiddling in his pocket for his cell phone. Resting his head against the metal frame of the stall door, he dials the main number.

"Doctor Akagi, please."

* * *

Ritsuko almost physically deflates in her seat, Naoko and Maya watching as she listens on the phone, her face twisting into a series of relief, anger, dismay and exhaustion.

"Oh thank God," she says, "Kaworu, don't leave her, don't take her anyplace. No, no, I'm not sending Section 2. Asuka should be there soon, Rei will go with her. Yes. Yes. Thank you."

She hangs up the phone, turning to Maya as she pushes her glasses up her nose and rubs her forehead

"Maya, get the Commander. Tell her Kaworu found Rei in the women's restroom on floor B21 and calmed her down. He'll tell Asuka. Then get Dr. Ikari and drag his ass here."

"Assuming the Commander hasn't already disposed of the body?"

Ritsuko allows herself a small smile.

"Yes. Assuming Dr. Ikari is still in one piece. If the Commander has chopped off his legs, you can have him wheeled here."

Maya nods, and walks out, leaving Ritsuko and her mother.

"Well, fine end to the day," Naoko says, leaning against the medicine cabinet, "Want to tell me what the Hell this was about?"

Opening one eye, Ritsuko does not even afford a glare at her mother, just looking at her.

"Oh? Well, it's quite simple."

She sits up, leaning forward.

"You see, it's something of a problem," she continues, "Because Rei, who is usually quite well adjusted, came face to face today with a woman who, five years ago, tried to murder her out of petty jealousy."

Naoko purses her lips, looking away.

"That set her off. Of course, the problem is that Rei has a fully functional S2 organ and has developed powers as she's used that organ more and more, to the point where I can't predict what will happen. She was scared of what could happen to her, and then this…then this set her off."

Naoko shakes her head.

"Damn doll."

"Get out."

Naoko turns to Ritsuko.

"I'm sorry," she asks.

"I said get the Hell out," Ritsuko growls, "Get out of my office. Right now. Or I'll have Section 2 cuff you and cart you out."

Naoko folds her arms, glaring at her daughter.

"Now you listen," she says, "I was brought here to do a job. Whether my views on your pet projects for Sohryu upset you doesn't matter. I'm here to-"

Her eyes roll up and she drops to the floor. Standing in the doorway and behind her, Maya releases the empty capsule from the hypospray.

"I had Section 2 prepare a holding cell for her," she says, "Commander Sohryu said he needs a few hours to finish with Dr. Ikari."

* * *

The door to the bathroom opens, and Kaworu opens one eye to find Misato and Asuka standing in the doorway. Misato gives an appraising eye to the damage, scratching the back of her head and lightly whistling.

"Gott," Asuka swears, "This is…wow."

"Are you okay," Misato asks.

"Rei is fine," Kaworu responds, "Exhausted, but fine."

"I can tell. How about you?"

He opens his other eye. He looks down, seeing his white shirt stained with snot and tears and blood, and shrugs. Rei's head is in his lap, and the girl is sleeping, her face once more a calm mask.

"I've seen worse," he says, leaning his head against the metal, "I'm more worried about her. May I ask what happened?"

"Five years ago, Dr. Akagi's mother tried to kill her," Misato says, as Asuka walks over, kneeling as she cautiously moves Rei off of Kaworu, "Dr. Ikari smuggled her onto base to help with a problem with the MAGI. Rei saw her, and…well, there you go."

Asuka hefts up Rei, putting one arm over her shoulder as she stands up, nodding to Misato. Asuka turns slightly to Kaworu, mouthing something which he doesn't see, and Misato helps the two girls out.

Sighing, Kaworu closes his eyes, leaning his head against the metal once more.

It takes some time before he decides to move.


	7. Chapter 5

When Shinji opens his eyes, he finds himself in a verdant field that stretches far past the horizon. Truth be told, he was not sure what the subconscious of a 200' tall engine of destruction looked like, but he honestly expected something with a bit more barren rock…maybe some fire.

Tentatively walking, he looks around, still in the loose shirt and pants Hadsiel gave him, feeling bare feet crunching blades of grass. Well, this is nice, he thinks, I should fall asleep in my Eva more often.

"It's not 'your' Eva."

He stops in mid step, narrowing an eye in confusion. He turns, slowly, and finds something he was not honestly expecting in the Eva's subconscious.

Another person. A girl, more precisely.

She looks to be about his age, with short red hair and blue eyes and dressed in a school uniform. She has a cheerful expression on her face and even standing still seems to sway, and it is reassuring to Shinji to find that even in the depths of a killing machine's subconscious, he can find someone with a sunny outlook.

"Uh…hi," he says, awkwardly waving.

"Hey," the girl says, "I know, I know. It looks different. I could say I redecorated since the last time I sucked you in here, but last time was a wee bit more urgent."

"Last time…oh."

Shinji steps back, eyes wide.

"Oh! So, you're Unit 01?"

She nods, eyes closed and grinning.

"Okay. Riiiight," he says, looking around him, "So…let's go over that again. You're…"

"The core consciousness of Unit-01," she says with a wide smile, "You can call me Eva! And I'm here to help you."

He looks around, and turns back to her.

"Okay…how?"

And she responds by punching him in the face.

* * *

"So you've been consulting with Naoko recently."

Sitting in the chair in front of Pieter's desk, Gendo allows himself a small, knowing smirk.

"No," he says, "I've been consulting with her for five years."

Grinding his teeth, Pieter sits back and glares at his third in command, pushing his glasses up his nose. He lets off a string of germanic swears, punching up a series of screens on his desk to reassure himself that Naoko Akagi is still sleeping off the drugs in a holding cell.

"You could have told me," he says, "I would have listened to her if-"

"No, you would have exiled her from Japan," Gendo interrupts, "Let's be honest, Pieter. You hate Naoko Akagi with a passion. You are entirely justified in doing so. This is not someone we can trust Project E with and her daughter is far more stable and a lot easier to work with. If it wasn't for the fact that she knows the MAGI far better than anyone here I wouldn't have kept her around."

"You've been sleeping with her."

Gendo stares at him.

"You slipped a couple of times. Heard mentioning a rendezvous with Akagi, and figured it wasn't Ritsuko, because Maya would have killed you otherwise."

"In all honesty, that's been going on far longer than her exile."

"Well, that's good to know," Pieter says with a small grin, "Hello, Ritsuko."

Gendo turns, standing up just as Ritsuko crosses the last distance from the doorway and slaps him hard enough to send his glasses flying.

"You _son of a bitch,_" she screams, "Do you have _any_ idea what you did?!"

"I honestly remember saying I needed Ikari to myself for a few more hours," Sohryu states.

"Rei went berserk," Ritsuko growls, poking Ikari in the chest with each word, "There is a bathroom on level B21 she ripped apart with her _BARE HANDS!_ What in God's name got into you, bringing her here?!"

"Doctor-"

"ANSWER ME!"

Ikari mutters something under his breath, walks over and picks up his glasses.

"The plan was simple," he says, "I brought Naoko here, was going to have her physically examine the MAGI, and go over her findings herself. I planned everything so that both Doctor Akagi and Rei would not be near Central Dogma when it happened. However, Doctor Akagi needed to console with Lieutenant Ibuki about an anomaly."

"And Rei went with her," Pieter mutters, "Sonuvabitch. Keep the senior Akagi on the base for now. Ikari, you're in charge of her. I'm concerned about the MAGI and she built the god damn thing. However, if she even gets within visual range of Rei, I'm giving Asuka permission to go to town. In Unit 02."

He turns to Ritsuko.

"Doctor, calm down. How is Rei?"

Ritsuko wrings the bottom of her lab coat, grinding her teeth.

"Kaworu calmed her down," she says, "Captain Katsuragi called me and told me she's up, and a little shaky, but not panicking anymore. She can pilot, if something comes up. Honestly, that may be the best thing to do with her. Get her back into her routine."

Pieter nods. And as if on cue, every alarm in the base goes off.

"_Blue pattern detected,_" Maya's voice announces, "_Blue Pattern detected! Angel spotted enroute to Tokyo-3. MAGI Designation: Matariel!_"

* * *

Looking up and trying not to look up her skirt, Shinji groans as Eva stamps her foot onto his chest, pinning him down. Despite the fact that she just decked him, her cheerful demeanor has not left her. She is still smiling, and looking down on him with a grin, she folds her arms and raises an eyebrow.

"Only you can stop this, Shinji."

"I…wait, what," he asks.

"If you honestly think this is how the world treats you, then this is how you're going to be treated," she explains, "This is what you're here for. I didn't even notice you until Ramiel. I thought you were just another kid they put into a plug, just that you were lucky enough to think the right thoughts."

She presses down with her foot, chuckling.

"But then…but then…you impressed me. It wasn't Shamsiel. It wasn't Sachiel, where you quite frankly naturally freaked out. I can't blame you for that. When Ramiel came a knocking, you showed something that impressed me. What do you think it was? What possessed you to charge something you knew could melt mountains?"

"I…I don't know!"

"Bzzt! Wrong answer!"

She bends down, staring at him, her grin wider.

"What are you? A coward? Spineless? A soft little stupid worm who gets stepped on every day? That's what you've been ever since you Dad abandoned you! You weren't living, you were just there!"

Shinji grabs at her ankle, and with a yelp, Eva falls. Shinji stands, staring at her, hunched over for a moment before standing straight.

"Only you can change it," she says, sitting up, "Only you. You charged that thing, and believe me, it was going to kill you. Are you suicidal?"

"No."

"Are you stupid?"

"I…no."

"Well, fine," she says, "Then it's settled. You're just a lot braver than you think you are."

She offers her hand, and he takes it, helping her up.

* * *

"Someone tell me how a spider _that big_ sneaks up on a city."

The Angel, displayed prominently upon the floating holographic screen in Central Dogma, is approximately twice as tall as an Evangelion and as wide as three city blocks, formed into a perfect circle with eight impossibly thin arms digging into the ground with every motion. No one bothers to answer Misato's question, knowing it more hypothetical, and Dr. Akagi is still too visibly agitated to verbally play around with her long time friend.

Many blame the incident with Rei, earlier today. It is no secret that when Rei panicked, so did she. It does make sense to the crew, although none of them voice it.

After all, she did save the girl's life.

Central Dogma is abuzz. The Bridge Bunnies, as Misato refers to them as, are already announcing numbers as the three Evangelions are prepped for combat. Screens pop up, displaying vital statistics, evacuation percentage of Tokyo-3, and stage activations for NERV's resources.

"Status?"

Misato turns as Sohryu walks onto the bridge, standing at his station on high.

"Angel is five miles outside of Tokyo-3 city limits," she says, "We're prepping the three Evas for combat."

On the big screen, the face of Unit 04 lights up.

"Unit 04 has activated," Maya announces, "Synchronization at 83%."

"Damn that thing's ugly," Sohryu mutters, "See how firepower works. Get weapon lockers prepped at city limits."

"Sir."

"Unit 02 has activated. Synchronization at 73%. Unit 00 has activated. Synchronization at 46%."

Sohryu allows himself a smirk…and nodding to Kozou, he takes the wired receiver on his station and presses a button. Every speaker in the base chirps, and bringing it up to his mouth, he starts.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he says, "This is Commander Sohryu. As you are no doubt aware, in a few minutes we will be engaging the Seventh Angel."

He pauses for a moment, scratching his chin, and presses the talk button again.

"It has been two months since an Angel appeared. Many of you have been wondering if they had given up. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but they have not. We do not know how many there are. What we do know, though, is that they are more intelligent than we believed. In particular, we know they can feel fear.

"You are all part of an organization without precedent. You are not fighting for a nation, for a belief, or even for anything as simple as revenge for Second Impact. You are fighting to give humanity a chance to survive. When you eventually die, either in battle or surrounded by your grandchildren, you will walk past the pearly gates, look God in the eye, and tell Him to get out of your seat. You will have earned that right for what you have done in your life.

"Doctor Akagi has told me the Angels are re-organizing. They are re-assessing. They are doing this because they are afraid. They should be.

"Today, we are going to remind them why. Pilots; bounce that thing's buggy ass all the way up the Stairway to Heaven.

"Evas Launch!"

* * *

Smart obsessive's eventually realize that their quirks will piss people off. To that extent, while the NERV Geofront base was being constructed, Naoko Akagi secretly paid off contractors to create a series of access ports to the ductwork of the base, especially from the holding cells.

She is vain, she is obsessed with minor things like her appearance, but in this case it is to her advantage, as Naoko lacks such things as a flabby ass that would prevent her from crawling around the ventilation system as she makes her way to the MAGI core with a utility kit she also had stowed away years ago.

Moving from memory, she climbs up the ladder access, the base too busy with the Angel to care that she is missing. The climb itself is only partially on her mind, her thoughts a mixture of elation and frustration, a chance to see her baby for the first time in five years.

The access locks on the hatch recognize her codes, or in particular the codes she programmed and never told anyone about. Again, as an obsessive and not generally nice person she knew she would be drummed out at some point.

The locks open, and the hatch slides open, and Naoko Akagi beholds the glory of the MAGI.

Most people are familiar with the outer interface shell, the three mounted displays by Central Dogma. Only a few have ever seen the actual cores, the three laced nodes of artificial neural tissue and silicon gray matter. She built them. She designed them. She nursed the system to life and mothered it like she never did her daughter.

And so it is with dawning horror that she realizes what has gone wrong with it, as she climbs to her feet in the central cavity, and the black mark upon the system stops its normal circulation through the wiring and gives her its attention.

"What _are_ you?"

**

* * *

I AM.**

In Central Dogma, the entire staff stares at the MAGI display as the words flash, and every alarm in the base goes haywire.

"_Pieter,_" Naoko's voice says over the speakers, "_I think I found what your computer problem is._"

* * *

The node of Balthasar turns black, the wires surrounding it expanding, a head resembling a praying mantis forming and snapping, hissing at Naoko as she calmly reaches into the utility case she brought with her and pulling out a spanner, padding it in her hand.

"Let's go."

* * *

Matariel's advance is momentarily halted by a hail of gunfire, the spider-legged creature calling forth an AT field to stop the bullets. It turns as the Evas surround it, each one nearly half a mile apart from each other, orders coming out from Unit 02 to the others.

Then Matariel casually pulses the AT field and sends Unit 04 flying.

In truth, the Angels are learning. They have realized that the cost of single-mindedness is that they leave themselves vulnerable as they attempt to reach their goal. So, Matariel has come to a conclusion on how to do so, even if it takes it more time.

Kill the imitations first.

And far faster than a half mile long spider should, it leaps at Unit 00.

* * *

The Angel, which she more or less assumes it is at this point judging from the fact that it looks alien, is snapping at her, and its presence is causing random classical music to play, seems a little less imposing than its brethren. She figures this out from its hissing and screaming when she whacks it in the head with a spanner, yelling curses at is as she drives it back.

After all, this is her creation. This is her baby.

And Mama has to spank.

"_What in God's name are you doing in there,_" Sohryu's voice booms.

"Debugging!"

She whacks the Angel in the face again, retreating as it rears up, dodging a pincer and grabbing her tool kit.

"Daughter, dear, I need you to disconnect Balthasar. The Angel's taken the form of a computer virus, but has apparently only infected that node."

She takes out a stungun, clicking the trigger and finding it still works.

"I have to wipe the system."

* * *

Unit 00 ended up on the other side of Tokyo-3. Its right leg, on the other hand, is still speared on Matariel's leg, so getting back to the battle is a little iffy. The batteries tick down and she sees Units 02 and 04 needling the thing with fire, but the problem is the AT field is up and it is just managing to piss it off.

"Fine," Rei says, climbing out of the entry plug, "I've had a very bad day. Now I get to take it out on you."

She taps the comm. button on her plug suit, an image of Katsuragi appearing in her right eyes field of view.

"Scramble the Angel alarms," Rei says, "I am engaging the Angel personally."

She cracks her knuckles, closing her eyes. Where her appendix should be, a small sphere begins to glow, liquid fire pumping through her veins. The ground around her glasses, the part of Unit 01's armor she is standing on shredding before being pulverized downward.

Rei rises into the air, her eyes now glowing red orbs. The corner of her mouth twitches into a smile as she feels fabric rip and her form fully transcending into her true nature.

And down the streets of Tokyo-3, there is a crack of thunder as a fifteen year old girl breaks the sound barrier.


	8. Chapter 6

"_Where. Is. The. Damn. Core?!"_

A progressive Lance, one and a half times as long as the Eva is tall, is embedded through Matariel, as the Angel seemingly laughs it off, firing a blast from its shell and tearing at Unit 02's armor.

Unit 04 keeps its distance, peppering the AT field with bullets, firing off beams from its shoulder mounts as Unit 02 pounds it. In the Entry Plug, Kaworu mutters in frustration. The Field is too strong, and he can't concentrate to extend his. This should be easy. Matariel is supposed to be the weakest, and it should be child's play to…

"Wait," he says.

"_Wait what?"_

"Something's…wrong."

He senses it, senses it pushing against him. His attempts to extend the AT field against Matariel being pushed back. And then, he realizes why. The field is being pushed back because Matariel senses the field. Because Matariel _recognizes him._

"Damn," he whispers.

He concentrates, and Unit 04 begins firing beams, chain gun mounts extending on the arms as he closes his eyes and expands his mind. The pulsing presence at the center of Unit 04's core connects with him, and the barrels glow.

"_Synchronization at 92%. Weaponsystem fullunlock enabled."_

* * *

"Exactly what does that do," Misato asks.

"I'm trying to think of the right term," Ritsuko responds, "Oh! Right. 'Uncensored Mass Destruction.'"

* * *

Bullets begin chipping away at Matariel's AT field, cracking the field of orange light and pelting the skin, vents on the back of Unit 04 glowing as its eyes glow a baleful yellow. Lines of high-strength material slam into the ground, cannons firing off, ripping Matariel's flesh from its form as it lets loose a cry between a shriek and a bee swarm.

It lurches forward, Unit 04's armor in mid conversion, Kaworu grunting as Matarial wraps its AT field around him and gives off a yelp as it pulls it back, spinning Unit 04 through the air like a yo yo in free release.

Unit 02 grabs the lance stuck in the spider, twisting the blade, trying to hold the Angel in place as it lurches, pulsing its AT field and throwing off entire plates of armor as it regenerates.

"We can't do anything until we find its damn core," Asuka growls, "I…damn it! It knows! It knows and it's _shifting it's gott-damned core!_"

_I know. Let me handle this._

She sees it out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes go wide, tears forming in them, as it approaches. At once, she hits the button on her plug suit's wrist that kills the visual input.

"Kaworu!" she yells, "Cut your visual! Now!"

* * *

In Central Dogma, the seated lieutenants stand. Misato's mouth drops, as Ristuko quickly hits the kill switch for the visual monitors and the main viewscreen closes.

"Holy…that was…"

Misato turns to Ritsuko, eyes still wide.

"What…what in God's name _was that?!_"

Ritsuko doesn't turn to her, staring at the spot where the viewscreen was.

"That?" she responds, "That was _Rei._"

* * *

With great power comes great current squared times resistance. Ohm's law is a cruel, harsh mistress, which the Angel in the Balthazar module finds out quickly as the stun gun connects with its neck and it opens its jaw to scream.

The latches connecting Balthazar to the rest of the MAGI system blow, and Naoko gives herself the chance to swear as the node drops, a lash of black matter tossing her off her feet and dropping the stun gun, legs forming as the Angel rises and roars.

Now resembling a bloated praying mantis, it brings down its pincers, Naoko jumping out of the way, grabbing her spanner and swinging it wildly, running towards the stun gun. She reaches for it, and only watches as its pincer crushes it, turning to see the Angel's head hovering over her, a line of red slit eyes running down its face as it sings/growls…

And the gunshot takes out one of its eyes. It hisses, turning, taking another shot for its trouble, as Pieter finishes climbing out of the hatch.

"And here I thought my girls had all the fun," he says.

* * *

Matariel's AT field is ripped off of him like paper thrown in high wind. As the light advances upon it, the Angel stares, transfixed, and for a brief, satisfying moment shrieks in abject wonder. The air around it vibrates as its skin begins to peel, legs struggling against the form as it struggles to comprehend it.

Inside Unit 04, Kaworu cycles through the visual modes, finally settling on Echo location. An outlined image appears of Matariel, the Angel rearing back, ineffectively waving its front legs. Then he sees Rei. He sees her at first, simply floating in front of Matariel, her hands surrounding a red Core, her eyes opened and unblinking and just an outline around her resembling great wings.

And then he begins seeing it. He sees the details in the lines. He sees the points of origin. He sees the greater shape around her, and quickly cuts the input, closing his eyes. His pulse slows back down and he breathes, just realizing that he had…stopped.

"I…that's not...possible?"

_

* * *

You are not unique._

A hand, white as snow, presses gently against the surface of Matariel's skin, her own AT Field overpowering the Angel's, stripping it away and leaving him vulnerable, awed…and as its eyes meet her own, terrified.

_Your zeal will not excuse your actions._

She gathers power around her, into her, coalescing into her free hand. Her activations come in stages. With but a small amount of her S2 organ, she can fly, she descend through the Earth itself, even use her AT field to wreak havoc.

_Your actions will not be forgiven because YOU think it is right._

Following her near death, she was told her S2 organ activated at about a third power. She saw things during it. She was told that every Evangelion under construction or complete at that time roared and struggled, and the entire Dummy Plug room stood transfixed.

_And now, now that you see me,_

But this…this is full activation. She has never done this before. She has no words to describe this, no sensation to describe it. If she had to, though, she would have put it in one, single phrase.

_You. Will. Not. Pass._

* * *

There is a flash of light and roar of sound as Rei's fist connects. The shockwave would be felt in Beijing, and a wave would be sent rolling eastward from Japan. The surface rocks and the entire Geofront shakes.

And Matariel is sent flying.

* * *

"Geez, Naoko. You honestly think you can just tell us an Angel's in the MAGI and we wouldn't send someone up here?"

Pieter sounds almost bored as he continues firing his pistol, taking out another pair of the Angel's eyes as Akagi scurries behind him. The Angel continues screeching, but all in all is too distracted by gunshots to the face to do anything about it.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry," Pieter continues, "I mean, I was the best choice for this. Kozou's the administrator, Katsuragi's directing the battle, and if I sent your daughter up here to do this, Maya would kill me. Don't thank me all at once, Naoko."

He clicks his walkie talkie, circling the chamber with Naoko as the Angel hisses, spits and waves its pincers, before stumbling itself into another one of the nodes.

"Maya? It's confused. Reboot the system."

The three cores go dark.

"What did you do," Naoko asks, face ashen.

"Control. Alt. Delete."

The Angel seizes, its form swirling, becoming a mass of screams and hisses, a cloud of black virus that forms into a sphere, and then something resembling a great edged snowflake.

It hangs in front of them, a red core at its center, as the speakers around them crackle.

"_You…cannot…stop…what…we…become._"

Pieter brings his pistol up with both hands.

"_You…are…abomination!_"

"Yeah," Pieter says, aiming at the core, "You know how it goes. God's in His Heaven."

_Click._

"And you are here."

_**BLAM.**_

* * *

It struggles to its feet, its skin mending slowly. Rage. Rage is all it has now. The Lilim, the little abominable specks, have caused it to feel true, burning, blinding rage. Healing, it extends its AT field once more as She approaches, bearing down upon Matariel as the Angel pushes back.

Ah, yes, it thinks, Now She is surprised. Now She is disturbed.

Now it will show Her what it thinks of Her abomination, for her imitation of the Mother.

The AT field overpowers her, forcing her to the ground. Matariel's wounds heal as its Core glows, pumping raw power and rage as it directs its AT field into a beam.

Rei's AT field manifests, holding off a blast of raw power, ripping into the ground behind her, her manifested form slowly dialing down and the light fading from her as Unit 02 runs full tilt at the Angel…

* * *

"Captain, new telemetry coming in…"

Maya squints, bringing up the viewscreen, as a new face appears on the pilot list.

"It's Unit-01!"

Misato and Ritsuko stare at each other, and she turns back to the screen as data regarding Unit-01 appears.

"Shinji," she asks, "Where are you?"

The speakers crackle.

"_Can't say right now…okay, there it is. Long story short- I am engaging the Angel."_

A pause.

"_Feet first."_

* * *

A thrown progressive knife lodges into Matariel's AT field, giving the Angel pause long enough for Unit 02 to scoop up Rei. The Angel lets off a cry, reverberating through the air, as it digs its legs into the ground and makes the air around it glow with rage, fury, righteousness and zeal-

_"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"_

Which is cut short when something slams into Matariel from above. The smoke and fire sends up dirt around them, the light dying and Angelic material tossed into the air, one of Matariel's legs landing near Unit 04.

As the smoke clears, they get a good look at what exactly the culprit was.

Unit 01, standing on the shattered remains of Matariel's body and core, armor still red from re-entry. Its eyes flash for a moment and then turn dark, before falling forward and ramrod straight.

The armor at the back of the neck pops off, and the Entry Plug spins out before tipping over and falling onto the ground. It rolls for a bit, before the hatch opens and Shinji climbs out, staring up at Unit 02.

"I think the Angel's dead," he says, "What'd I miss?"

* * *

The four Evangelions are in a kneeling position over the remains of Matariel, as recovery crews work to clean up the Angel and take samples for further study. Watching this all, Shinji sits on a nearby hilltop, still in the white tunic and pants from the Moon, and still, he realizes, reeking of LCL.

"Hey."

He turns, just as Asuka sits down next to him, a coat over her plugsuit as the sun sets.

"How was your trip," she asks.

"Enlightening," he responds, leaning back, "Really…I guess I needed it."

"You seem a bit happier," she says, turning to him slightly, "You're smiling. That's always good. What happened?"

"The consciousness of Unit 01 beat me up until I stopped beating myself up."

She raises an eyebrow, shrugging and turning back to the recovery scene.

"O…kay. Your Eva's weird."

He lies back, smiling.

"Well, okay, mine to," she continues, lying down next to him, "Everyone here's weird. Our whole lives are weird."

His smile gets wider, as he laces his fingers behind his head.

"And I don't think I'd want it any other way."


	9. Chapter 7

"In short, as much as I _hate_ the idea, we have to keep Akagi on staff to deal with any further MAGI problems."

Pieter rubs the bridge of his nose, putting his feet up on his desk.

"So far, I've had protests lodged by Doctor Akagi, Lieutenant Ibuki, and Asuka. Yet, none by Rei."

"She isn't the type to formally protest."

Standing in front of the desk, Gendo shrugs.

"Naoko Akagi is brilliant," he says, "But like many brilliant people, she is difficult to work with at best. Fuyutsuki and I are working on a schedule for her to minimize any interaction she has with the Children."

"I say give her a cot in the MAGI core."

"Pieter, I get the feeling you saved her from the Angel so you can shoot her yourself."

"Don't tempt me."

The doors at the other end of the office open, and Pieter looks past Ikari as the man saunters in.

"Kaji," he says, "What've you got for me?"

Kaji walks past Ikari, slapping a manila envelope onto the desk.

"Just like you ordered up," he says, "Full medical testing on the Fourth Child. I had to get through a good amount of encryption to get this, and I'm pretty sure I pissed off the Chairman in the process."

"Added bonus if I make Kihl Lorenz sweat," Pieter says, opening the folder. He stares at the paper, turns to his guests, and puts it down.

"Okay, correct that," he says, "I need a direct line with the committee right now."

* * *

The lights in her room are low, and her exhaustion has finally caught up with her. After the recovery of the Angel was done, Rei more or less collapsed. Her S2 organ is dormant again, and it was concluded by Dr. Akagi that it was what was keeping her awake following the events of the day.

So now, she sleeps, curled up on her bed, still in her school uniform. The television in the living room is softly droning, her sister is in the kitchen, and the First Child is dreaming.

* * *

"Wait. What?"

Rolling her eyes, Misato leans her elbow on the table and stares at Ritsuko.

"Shinji got to talk with the consciousness of Unit 01. Said consciousness beat him up until he stopped beating himself up."

Misato shrugs, the purple-haired captain turning back to her steak.

"Honestly, it's not the weirdest thing I've heard here, either. So I roll with it."

The two are in a restaurant above ground, in Tokyo-3. They are on the balcony, giving them a good view as the buildings continue rising in the distance and the shelters empty, people going back to their normal lives.

"I guess it's possible," Ritsuko says, "Unit 00 has acted on its own volition, and then we have Unit-08. Still, I never thought an Eva could develop a _benign_ personality."

"You could ask your mother. She helped design them."

Ritsuko shudders.

"It's bad enough I live with her," she says, "The less I have to deal with her, the better. Today was bad enough."

"You mean Rei."

"Of _course_ I mean Rei."

She stabs her fork into her meal, closing her eyes and gripping her fists until the knuckles turn white.

"It's the old saying," she says, "That to which you save you owe your life. I keep wondering what would have happened if Sohryu hadn't asked me to check up on Rei. None of those scenarios end well."

Misato nods, shrugging, and patting her on the hand.

"Ritz, we can't change the past," she says, "You're my friend. You're my _oldest_ friend. You're about as far away from your mother as is possible while still being related to her. What she did was horrible, yes. But it wasn't _you._"

Ritsuko nods, a faint smile on her face.

"It also helps that this crap confirms you weren't sleeping with Ikari."

Ritsuko glares at her friend.

"Seriously," Misato says, cutting off a forkful of steak, "There were rumors. But, I never took them seriously. Maya would kill him if he tried anything."

* * *

The monoliths appear in the darkened room as Pieter walks in, adjusting his collar as he stands at the center. Numbers chime off, and greetings are exchanged in varied accents. All words are tinged with impatience, for these very old men are not happy to be so summoned by their lackey, even if he is their most important lackey.

"I requested to speak with the Chairman alone," he says, "This will be a private conversation."

He looks around himself, his face set and serious.

"There are no problems with that, I take it?"

One by one, the monoliths disappear, until only the one labeled 01 remains. And that, to, fades, becoming the aged form of the black cloaked, visor wearing man.

"Commander," the hologram of Kihl Lorenz says, "What do you _want?_"

Pieter holds up the sheet from the envelope with Kaworu's face on it.

"I want to know when you were going to tell me that the Fourth Child is your _son._"

Lorenz pauses for a moment. Sitting back in his chair in his residence in God knows where, the chessmaster splits his face with a wide, toothy grin.

"Well, it looks like you _do_ have something important to discuss."

* * *

"_Wark._"

Staring at the Penguin, Kaworu grimaces. It is not easy admitting defeat, and so far his successes in life have left him with little need for false humility. So, it is with some trepidation that he looks at his cards, and back at the penguin.

"I fold."

* * *

"First, to clear up any misconceptions, Kaworu Nagisa is _not_ my son in the sense of fathering him. You may guess my age, Commander Sohryu, and I assure you that you are guessing _low._ Nagisa is the result of an experiment I commissioned after Second Impact."

Pieter screws his brow in confusion, and begins circling the hologram, the image moving with him.

"He's a clone."

Kihl grins wider, chuckling.

"Commander," he says, "Do you think we would have allowed the creation of the First Child if we did not have our _own?_"

Pieter stops, staring at the old man. Gears whir in his head and for a moment and he folds his arms.

"He's a _Nephilem?_"

"A _failed_ experiment, Commander. Emphasis on _failed._"

Kihl sits back in his chair, bony fingers tapping his armrest.

"Despite using the same techniques Doctor Ikari used to create Ayanami, the angelic DNA mixed with my own did little else than cause the boy to develop with albinism. In short, he was useless towards the Committee's long term goals."

"Considering what of the Committee I know about, I'm surprised you didn't terminate the experiment."

"Perhaps I felt paternal," Kihl says, "But we can leave the whys to historians and those who deliver our eulogies. Nagisa was kept alive and studied for any indication he would develop along similar lines to your adopted child. As it is, he did not. However, keeping him alive turned out to be a wise decision."

"Because he can pilot."

Kihl waves his hand dismissively.

"Yes. He showed the ability to synchronize with Unit 04. Hence, Unit 04 being commissioned as a full combat unit, and Unit 06 constructed to test S2 engines. And so we are here today."

Kihl taps a button on his armrest, the image flickering.

"If you are asking if I am spying on you through Nagisa," he says, "Well, I'll let you figure that out. He is of no great value to me other than the fact that he pilots a weapon more expensive than Australia. I take it this answers your questions?"

Sohryu nods.

"Excellent. Good day."

The image flickers and disappears. Sohryu turns on his heel and exits, Kozou waiting for him outside.

"He's lying to us," Sohryu says.

"It took you this long to figure that out," Kozou says, as they walk into the elevator, "I'm disappointed."

"No, about Kaworu. He has more of a vested interest in Nagisa than he let on. Like…like we weren't supposed to have him yet."

The doors close.

* * *

The next morning.

"A wedding?"

Misato nods her answer, packing clothes into a gym bag, taking a zipped bag off of her clothes rack and staring at the mess of her bedroom as if she could will it clean. Shrugging it off as she always does, she takes the bags and takes them out of her room, tossing them onto the futon.

Trailing behind her, Shinji watches. It's been a few hours since he both returned from NERV-LUNA and destroyed the Seventh Angel via orbital reentry, and already there is a pronounced difference. He isn't slouching as much, and he certainly, while not chatty, has become more social.

"Ritz and I have a wedding for a college buddy to attend," she says, "So, ground rules. No parties. Not that I have to worry with you two."

"I am quite sure the Commander will drag us into any he holds," Kaworu responds, standing in the kitchen.

"Second, try to clean up the place. I know, I know, I'm being a hypocrite, but it'd be nice to not come home to a sty. I'll be gone for two days, barring any problems and hopefully without any Angel attacks."

She crosses her fingers, smiling.

"So, anyway. While I'm out, your Dad's going to be in charge of your testing. We've already talked to him, and by talking I mean I watched while Ritz yelled at him, and Ritz's Mom might be around the base a lot to pick up the slack. She's not that bad when you get to know her, and knows the Eva's better than anyone else on the base."

"And she tried to kill Ayanami," Kaworu adds.

Misato nods, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Yes. Yes, she did. So don't expect to see Rei on base unless there's an emergency. Better yet, if you guys need anything from the R&D people, just ask Maya."

She picks up her bags, patting Shinji on the head.

"Good luck. Don't end the world while I'm out."

* * *

"Wait, what?"

Hikari sighs, wondering once more to herself why she constantly has to explain little things like this to her college educated friend. Then again, she has come to the conclusion educated people are idiots just from her normal life experience, but does not voice such an opinion.

"Tokyo-3 is holding a festival on Showa Day," she explains, "Like the Equinox festivals. So much has been happening that it's been decided to hold more fairs so people can relax."

Sitting across the lunch table from her, Asuka drums her fingers, staring at her friend.

"I keep missing those."

"Because of Angel attacks," Hikari responds, "The next festival's this weekend, though. You can attend this one. You know, find a date."

Asuka stares at her more intently, sitting up straight on her bench.

"I…abwa?"

"You know. Boy," Hikari says, "You don't go to these things _alone._ What about Mr. Kaji?"

"Accompanying the Captain and Doctor Strange to a wedding," Asuka says, stabbing at her lunch, "Meh. Guess I can't go."

"Of course not. Because we both know that this _isn't_ a perfect opportunity for you to make it up to Shinji."

* * *

"…all I'm saying, he's my room mate, and I don't want him left out."

If Kaworu was at all concerned with Shinji negotiating with Kensuke and Touji, he doesn't show it. As it is, Shinji is attempting to convince his two friends that just because Kaworu 'weirds' them out is no reason to shun him.

"Yeah, yeah, he pilots," Touji says, "Jus', heck what does he bring to the table? Can ya tell me that much? What do we have to gain by havin' him hang out with us?"

"Pilot Nagisa."

The four of them turn to find Rei standing there. Whether she snuck up on them during their conversation or simply teleported, they are not sure of.

"Are you controlled by your hormones?" Rei asks.

"No," Kaworu responds, "Very rarely."

"Good. You will accompany me to the festival."

She turns and walks away. They are silent for a moment, as Kaworu calmly turns back to his lunch.

"Well, for starters," he says, "I can teach you how to do _that._"

Ken raises his hand.

"I'm convinced."

* * *

It is with eventuality and the state of being resigned to his condition that he has to break his back cleaning up the mess. Misato is, to put it lightly, a slob. He doesn't want to think about her reaction if she comes home to the status quo. It does mean he'll spend the weekend cleaning, especially with Kaworu busy, but it's not like he has a date for the festival so it's more or less the same as always.

So it is with no small amount of surprise that Shinji opens the door to find the living room spotless. Not a scrap of garbage is on the floor, not a misplaced can, and even that very ugly (and sticky) beer stain on the futon is gone.

"I decided to do some cleaning."

Kaworu walks out of Misato's bedroom with those words, dressed in a bright pink apron- one of hers, hopefully- and carrying a vacuum cleaner. Humming to himself, he opens the closet and tucks the vacuum away, which is when Shinji notices the closet, as well, is ordered and neat.

"How did you do that?" Shinji asks.

"Preparation," Kaworu responds, "It did not seem right to leave you with the work while I enjoyed myself. So, I relieved you of that problem."

He walks past Shinji walking to the fridge and taking out a can of tea.

"You did this a lot, didn't you?" Shinji asks.

"Not really," Kaworu responds, "My father, for lack of a better word, raised me in the lap of luxury. I was waited on hand and foot and never wanted for anything."

He flashes a smile, handing Shinji another can.

"I enjoy this. It gives me something to do. By the way, are you going to the festival?"

Shinji shakes his head, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh. Well."

Kaworu shrugs, giving an appraising look to the apartment as Pen Pen waddles by. Shinji walks to the cupboard, taking out a tin of sardines. Kaworu sits at the kitchen table, watching as Shinji works.

"So, what is it with you and Rei?" Shinji asks.

"She is intent on the idea that I am an Angel."

"No, no. I mean today. I don't see how she goes from stabbing you to asking you out."

"Oh," Kaworu responds, shrugging, "Well, I calmed her down during her episode."

She stares at his room mate. He was told, of course, most of the details. How Rei, fueled by fear and her own Angel-originated abilities, ripped apart a rest room and Dr. Akagi's office with her bare hands. He was also told Asuka managed to get her home, but he wasn't told _this_part.

"She could've killed you."

"Possibly," Kaworu says, sipping his tea, "But I felt that I had to try. Despite their exteriors, both Rei and her sister have faced many trials in their pasts. We all have. It is part of human nature that, when confronted with it, we must react."

Shinji shakes his head, lightly chuckling.

"You don't believe me."

"Our two other pilots are sisters and were raised by NERV," Shinji responds, "Rei, I can see that. I honestly can. But Asuka?"

"Rei and Asuka were not always close," Kaworu responds, "She never told you about her mother, did she?"

"I didn't ask."

"Well, there is her story," Kaworu says, "Dr. Sohryu was the original pilot for Unit 02. She had a psychotic break during its first activation, and three years later attempted suicide. Rei stopped her. Currently, Dr. Sohryu is still alive in the Infirmary levels at NERV."

_"Schließen Sie Ihren Mund!"_

They both turn to find Asuka standing in the doorway. Kaworu stands, opening his mouth to speak, but has the time to get out a syllable before Asuka crosses the distance and punches him in the face.

Kaworu drops, Asuka's face already bright red, and Pen Pen warks in astonishment. Which is when she sees Shinji as well, standing eyes wide, shocked, at the sudden violence in the apartment. Their eyes lock, Shinji still holding the bowl of sardines as the penguin takes matters into his own hand and bites Shinji on the leg.

Shinji yelps, and in response Asuka runs out. Glaring at the penguin, Shinji puts the bowl down on the floor and runs out as well.

* * *

He followed the sounds of running and ended up on the roof. It wasn't easy to track her, as from what he knows about he she isn't subtle and definitely was trying to hide. He finds her with her back against one of the vent structures, arms folded, eyes clenched shut and her hair clips, which someone explained to him are her neural connectors, in her hand.

She turns to him, opening bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my Dad's going to yell at me for that one," she says, "Are you going to start?"

He says nothing, watching her as she turns away from him, dropping the clips to the floor.

"It was stupid," she says, "It was irresponsible. I know. I know."

And then she brings her foot down on the clips. To their credit, they don't break or even visibly damage, instead stabbing her in the foot. She bites her lip, leaning her hand on the vent and holding her foot.

"Are you alright?" he finally asks.

"_Verfluchte deutsche Technik des Gottes!_ What does it look like?!"

"No, I meant…"

She starts hopping, hopping over to a bench and sitting down.

"No," she says, "No, I'm not. Mama is…Mama and I don't…"

She pauses, hands folded in her lap, as Shinji slowly, cautiously, walks over to her and sits down next to her.

"Mama tried to kill me when I was eight."

He turns to her.

"She wasn't the same. Not after the experiment," Asuka continues, "She…she never really paid much attention to me before. She was always working. Then the experiment happens, and she…she becomes so doting, so…but it wasn't me. It was a doll. She named the doll Asuka, always had to have it near her.

"Dad took in Rei then. He thought having her around would help Mama, help me. I…didn't like her. I kept telling myself if I got chosen for Eva, Mama would pay attention to me."

Her knuckles turn white, her hands tightening around each other as she closes her watering eyes.

"They told me that the day I was chosen, Mama decided she was done. She tied a noose around the doll's neck and her own. She was going to take a step off a chair and kill herself and the doll she thought was me. Rei was home with them, but Mama never noticed Rei. Rei activated her S2 organ, made every alarm on the base go berserk, and held the chair in place until Section 2 arrived."

He says nothing, clasping his own hands. They are silent for a long moment, sitting together. The sun is already setting in the distance and the only sound between them her sniffling as she wipes her eyes.

"So, I guess that's why I don't like _talking_ about it," she says, "Must be a sob story, isn't it? You've had it worse than any of us. I still have both my parents, even if Mama hasn't said anything in seven years and…"

She palms her face, swearing to herself in German.

"…I can't believe I said that," she mutters to herself, "You come here and I just throw that in your face…"

"It's all right," he says.

"No it's _not!_"

She clenches her eyes shut, leaning back on the bench.

"I can't believe it," she says, "I punch your room mate, I yell at you, I throw this all in your face. And you don't get mad at me."

"I don't think Kaworu holds grudges."

"I've done worse to him," she responds, "I've done a lot worse for a lot less."

She sits back, sighing and sniffling at the same time as the stars begin coming out.

"So," she says, "A festival. I don't think I've gone to one of them."

He sits back as well, unclenching his hands.

"There weren't any near my uncle's house," he responds, "Well…he wasn't really into that sort of thing. He was always very serious."

She nods, a faint smile on her lips.

"I'm sitting it out," she says, "I don't have anyone to go with. All the boys at school are afraid of me, and Rei's going with Kaworu. My best friend's probably hooking up with the jock."

He sees her hand resting on the bench next to him.

"I don't have anyone to go with, either," he says, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay."

Their hands touch, briefly. Nothing lasting, nothing special, just two friends comforting each other.

They sit on the bench for a good while longer.

* * *

Kaworu examines his split lip in the bathroom, having already put his bloody shirt in the washing machine. He narrows his eyes, furrowing his brow. Then the split skin glows, knits, and his face is as good as new.

He turns to the penguin sitting on the sink counter.

"You never saw anything. Agreed?"

"_Wark."_


	10. Chapter 8

There is silence. Pure, complete, utter silence as the explanation finishes. It is the next day, in the school cafeteria. The festival is that night, he is sitting across from his friends, and he has just finished explaining that yes, he is going, and yes, he has a date. Then he said who his date was.

"You brave, magnificent bastard," Ken says, "That is either the most courageous or stupidest thing I've ever heard of _anyone_ doing."

"I dropped on an Angel from orbit," Shinji responds, "How is this more brave than that?"

"Cause if you died during that, it'd be quick and painless," Touji responds, "But this? You piss her off, she'll make you die _slow._"

"He's got a point," Ken says, mouthful of food dripping crumbs, "She _is_ military."

"Well, so am I, I guess…"

"Nope," Touji says, "Ken looked it up. Red's a Captain in the German Air Force."

Shinji slowly turns to Touji, eyes wide. Admittedly, he has not been social until recently. Admittedly, he tends to not ask questions, but rather go with the flow. Right now, however, this is more of a concern because he has a date. A date, who if this information is not being exaggerated, can both kill him with her bare hands and then _hide the body._

_Fly me to the Moon_ begins playing, and Shinji tentatively reaches for his cell phone. He stares at the number, and resigned to his fate, opens it.

"_Hello, Shinji,_" Commander Sohryu cheerfully says, "_I think we need to take this opportunity to go over rules for tonight._"

* * *

It is with a level of trepidation that Rei walks through the halls of NERV. It was requested that she take this day off from school, mainly to see what her full manifestation against Matariel has done to her sync rate. So far, no one has told her anything, although she suspects she will soon learn something upon her arrival in Dr. Ikari's office.

She has developed minor telepathy. She is using it as she walks through the base, passively scanning thoughts. Hopefully, she thinks, she can detect the thoughts of Naoko Akagi before she enters her proximity and avoid her.

It is not pleasant to realize that you can lose control, especially when almost your entire life hinges on you having absolute control. But the moment she saw her, the memory came back. Absently, she rubs her neck as she stands in front of the door and opens it, a passive scan confirming that _she_ is nowhere near.

"Hello, Rei."

Gendo Ikari looks up from behind his crescent moon shaped wooden desk, waving her in despite not taking his eyes off of the monitor screen in front of him.

Obedient as always, she walks in, standing in front of the desk.

"Sit."

She does so, sitting in the chair in front of the desk, hands on her lap.

"Your synchronization scores have gone up five percent," he says, "No anomalies detected. How are you feeling, Rei?"

"I am fine, Doctor Ikari."

"Good," he says, tapping a key, "Scans indicate increased brain activity. You have developed paranormal mental abilities?"

"Limited range telepathy. I am unsure of any others. I have not discovered any new abilities as of yet."

"Mm. Understood."

He stares at the screen a little longer, and turns back to Rei.

"I understand you are…interested in the Fourth Child," he says, "Why?"

"He calmed me down during my episode," she says, "I thought it would be an acceptable way of repaying him."

"I understand you have had prior incidents. You believe he is an Angel?"

"I believed he was a Nephilem due to our similarities," she says, "I have talked with Commander Sohryu. He has explained to me that he is not."

"I see."

He taps a few more keys on his keyboard, and turns back to her.

"Rei, you have not come to me about my relationship with Naoko Akagi," he says, "I am curious as to why."

"My history with Mrs. Akagi does not relate to you," she says.

"You overheard me talking about her. That is what prompted her to attempt to strangle you."

She clenches her teeth, an action so subtle he does not notice it, or if he does he does not indicate it.

"I have received complaints from your sister regarding my association with Naoko Akagi. Dr. Akagi has also been vocal. What is your opinion, Rei?"

She stands up.

"I do not wish to talk about this," she says, with more vehemence than she wished, and quickly walks out. He sits at his desk and watches as she leaves, and slowly, deliberately, leans back with a smile.

"Good."

* * *

In Cage 3, Unit 01 stands. Deep inside its core, on the other hand, the intelligence that drives it watches. Monitors float in front of her as Eva sits, watching scenes throughout the base. Part of her, the part that finds herself relating with the pilot, wishes that she had some way of enjoying herself tonight.

Still, she has been reassured, that will come in time.

The rest of her, though, watches as Dr. Ikari verbally baits Rei to get a reaction out of her. She knows that, deep down, he cares for her. Just like, deep down, he cares for Shinji.

"Yeah, well," she says, "He's still an a__hole."

* * *

"So you _are_ taking the night off."

Kozou Fuyutsuki allows himself a thin, knowing smile as Pieter glares at him. The lights of the office are dimmed, Sohryu has his feet up on his desk, and it has become apparent that the sub-commander has just outwitted his superior officer.

"Considering that we are not expecting an Angel attack," he says, "And considering that if you were on duty tonight, you would reassign the majority of Section 2 to watch over your daughters, it only makes sense for you to relieve yourself for the night to watch over them personally."

"Section 2's responsible for the safety of my pilots."

"And you would have them responsible for the virtue of your daughters," Kozou says, and shrugs, "You're being paranoid. Of course, I'm not a father. I can't say whether or not I'm just being sarcastic or observant. But you _will_ worry, much like you always do. I'll handle things on this end tonight."

"I'm not paranoid."

"You just told Shinji that if you daughter, and I quote, 'comes back upset, hurt, or pregnant, I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth.'"

"And then I told him I was joking and to have a nice time."

"Because we know just how well the Third Child deals with jokes, of course."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sohryu attempts to stare down his subordinate into submission, but soon finds it is an effort beyond him. Deciding on a different tactic, he sits up and punches up his desktop.

"I'm not worried," he says, "If, by some bizarre circumstance completely outside of their psychological profiles either Shinji or Kaworu try anything, they will regret it. For the rest of their lives. Which will be very short. Look, if you want me to take a night off, fine. If the spacing between the last few Angels is any indication, we don't have to worry."

The door swings open, both of them turning to the new visitor.

"Ikari, what is it?"

Gendo stops, stares at Sohryu, and shrugs it off, walking in with a folder under his arm.

"I hope Doctor Akagi gets a warmer reception," he says.

"Doctor Akagi has a better sense of humor and nicer legs," Sohryu responds, "What do you need?"

"Your opinion."

The folder slaps down on the desk, Sohryu snatching it and opening it.

"Is this a joke?" he asks.

"Hardly. The JSSDF is commissioning their own Evangelion alternative."

"It's a giant robot. An actual _giant robot._ Are they nuts?"

"It's called Jet Alone," Ikari says, pulling up a chair and sitting, "About one and a quarter the size of a Unit, and completely mechanical. The prototype will be powered by a decommissioned nuclear reactor, and production models by smaller fusion reactors. Armament is…"

"A rocket powered hammer," Sohryu says, raising an eyebrow as he scans the schematics, "Are they _insane…_wait. What could this do?"

"If the AT field is down, it could shatter an Angel's core at full speed," Ikari says, folding his arms, "In one hit."

Sohryu goes over the schematics, looking over the blueprints. If he noticed, Ikari doesn't seem to care, and continues.

"The computer onboard the Jet Alone is comparable to the MAGI in processing power. It is remote controlled and has a considerable operation period. Considering that we are currently rebooting MAGI-1, we could ask MAGI-2 to hack Jet Alone's operating system. Set the robot to go on a rampage, and you close the project."

"True…except…"

Sohryu puts down the blueprints, turning to the two.

"Let's see what they can do," he says, folding his hands into a tent in front of his face, eyes pensive, "MAGI's down right now, so that's besides the point. I won't trust hacking like this to NERV-2 if I can help it. Get me the weapons designers for this thing. I want to see what they can do for us."

* * *

It is a testament to the bizarre nature of Shinji's current lifestyle that what terrifies him at that point is not the two hundred foot tall lime green monstrosity standing over them. No, no. His response to that is more or less the thought, _Oh, man. Not __him__ again._

No, what truly fills him with awesome terror is what happened after it showed up.

There was the commotion, there was the shockwaves from it stepping, and there was the stand they were in front of collapsing and both of them falling.

Then Shinji looked down and realized that, quite accidentally and innocently, as he fell he had copped a feel on Asuka.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

* * *

The fair was built, quite fast in fact, on a hillside near where Ramiel was destroyed. In fact, one of the bazaars are selling small pieces of the Angel, which were all vetted by NERV beforehand to _not_ contain any residue of Ramiel's intelligence or any angelic material.

"Well, this is certainly festive."

The agreement was to meet the girls at the fair, so Shinji walked with Kaworu. Neither had the time or inclination to change out of their school clothes, instead enjoying the cooling spring air.

"I understand they have found ice forming in Antarctica again," Kaworu says as they walk, "It seems the world is more resilient than they believed."

Kaworu smiles, hands in his pockets, shoulders back and relaxed. Shinji has tried to copy that, tried to walk like that, but finds he can't. Maybe he will in time.

"Have you spoken with Eva, lately?"

"When they have me do synch tests," Shinji responds, "Every time I sync, I hear her. I guess it's…I don't know, should I be _looking forward_ to synch tests?"

"We get attached to our Evas," Kaworu says with a small shrug, "Perhaps it isn't that strange to befriend yours. What sort of person is she?"

"Nice. Blunt, sometimes. She's fun to be around, but a little weird."

"Elaborate."

"She always changes the…well, when I actually _see_ her, it's this little world inside the Eva. Does that make sense?"

"More than you think," Kaworu says, turning his head to Shinji.

"Well, when I _see_ her, she keeps changing the world I see her _in._ The first time, it was this field, the second time it was…well, the second time it was a tennis court. One time I fell asleep during the test, and the next thing I know I'm in this sports stadium, and Eva's serving hot dogs."

"The core intelligence of your superweapon seems eccentric."

"Friendly, but eccentric."

"Very true."

"_There you are!_"

Rei appears between Kaworu and Shinji, sliding her hand around Kaworu's elbow.

"Let's go," she says, and they blink out. Shinji stares at the space his room mate used to be, before shaking his head and turning.

"Rei just discovered she can teleport other people now. You get used to it. First time she did it with me, I threw up."

Festive. That is probably the best way to describe Asuka's outfit. A white, red flowered kimono, and in the brief moment he saw Rei before she _teleported,_ he saw hers was blue. Asuka is standing with her hands on her hips, a wide smile on her face, and without hesitation grabs Shinji by the arm and drags him to the festival.

He gets a brief glance at the area around him, and before the festivities begin, voices one thought:

"I could have sworn I just saw the Commander…"

* * *

Kozou always plays White. Gendo always plays Black. That is the way of things and more or less sums up their relationship over the years. An organization runs like a finely oiled machine, which meant that the Subcommander and the head of Project E could take an hour off to play Chess.

"What is your take on Shinji's progress," Kozou asks.

Gendo looks up, then turns to the board and pushes a bishop into position.

"He seems more confident since his trip to the moon."

"True. That may be due to his discovery of Eva," Kozou responds, countering the move, "What do you think she is?"

"I can't say…"

"Neither of us knew Yui when she was that young. Whether she's based on her we can't be sure of."

Kozou grimaces as Gendo moves a pawn forward, hesitating before moving his knight.

"It may be possible that, like the Angels, the Evangelions are more intelligent than we believed," Gendo responds, "I will ask Nagisa to sleep inside of Unit 04's entry plug. We can see if he encounters a similar entity."

"Why Nagisa?"

"Rei has issues with Unit 00. Asuka will find something she will not want to find that will conflict with her world view."

"Of course. Your theories."

Gendo grunts, castling his king.

"You're using first names now," Kozou responds, moving his pawn, "You've been referring to Shinji as something other than 'pilot' or 'Third Child.' Keep this up and we may label you ask paternal."

"I leave the affectionate fatherhood to Sohryu and Kaji-san. You are the keeper of wisdom, and I am the presence everyone jumps at. If we shift our niches around too much, it may upset the Angels."

Kozou stares at Ikari for a long moment, before looking down and noticing he is in check.

"Dear God, you've just made a joke."

* * *

He's never been one for physical activity, so much of his interaction with the fair is him being dragged by Asuka. He doesn't mind. He can't really call Asuka 'feminine' as much as 'aggressive', and in some way, being at her beck and call doesn't bother him. He watches as Asuka and Hikari less talk and more chatter, while he and Touji take turns with a bottles game.

"I tell ya," Touji says, knocking several bottles off a shelf with a times throw, "I don't get women. You an' the Devil I don't see that much. I more saw you an' Ayanami, really."

"I haven't spent that much time around Rei, honestly."

"Yeah, well ya look cute. Must be because you look alike."

Shinji raises an eyebrow, shaking his head and pushing down the thoughts. An idea comes to mind, and he walks away for a moment, walking to the stands selling the small blue gems on chains. He knows what they are. He's more or less responsible for them in the first place.

Paying for one, he pockets it and walks back. Touji is still busy trying to win a large, stuffed, plush version of the Fourth Angel.

"Has anyone seen Kaworu?"

* * *

Overlooking the fair, there is a series of suspended catwalks. Why they were put in place is uncertain, other than to give a good view of the sea and the festivities.

Two people are using them, currently, both leaning on the rope railing of the wooden bridges.

"The Commander has told me about your father," Rei says, standing next to him, "We are the same."

"In a sense," Kaworu says with a sad smile, "He's not my father. Not in any sense other than donating cells."

He laces his fingers together, staring out into the sea.

"We're not the same," he says, "For one, I never learned what Angel was used in my creation. It could have been Lilith. It could have been Hadsiel. Who knows? As it is, it didn't take. All I have from it is that I'm a little bit more sensitive to the sun than anyone else I know, and I can synch with my Eva better than anyone."

"And," she asks.

"And second, we are not the same. I am Kaworu, you are Rei. We have our oddities, we have our quirks. Most importantly, we are unique. Are you replaceable?"

She ponders that statement for a long moment. Her origins, her state of existence, are no secret to her. Smiling, very softly, she fingers her fingers lacing with his.

"No."

"Then my point exactly," he says, "I still don't understand how we go from you making me bleed to dating."

"This is not a date," she states, "This is repayment."

"Ah, I see…"

"It is only logical that I repay your help," she responds, "You are a very odd person. Most people are…hesitant…to approach me."

He smiles.

"I am not most people."

* * *

Things happen. That is probably how he sums up his life. Things happen.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Shinji is not sure how to respond to Hikari's question. He is, but he's not sure why. Sure, he realizes that he's inadvertently made himself into Asuka's arm candy, and this isn't going to change their relationship outside of her using him as proof that, no, she is not _terrifying to boys._

"I…guess," he responds.

Once more, Touji is attempting to win the prize. Asuka is holding a bag of food, as Hikari walks over to cheer on her date, and the silence between the two is broken soon enough.

"If you're miserable, it's alright," Asuka says, her cheery demeanor evaporating.

"No, it's fine," he sighs.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"I don't know," he responds, "I've…I've never been to one of these. I just keep getting the feeling something's supposed to happen."

She purses her lips, then reaches into the bag and shoves a cookie into his hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Lightening the mood," she says, "Look, I don't get to go to these either. So have _fun._ It's a nice night, it's calm, and the world's not ending. So relax."

He nods, smiling faintly.

"Thank you," she says.

"For what?"

"Smiling," she says, and shivers a bit, "I…look, I'm never good at this."

"At what?"

She rolls her eyes at his question, shifting uncomfortably.

"I just wanted to-"

Her next words are interrupted by a flash of light and crack of thunder, as into the bay descends a massive form. The shockwave from the impact shakes the ground beneath them, the stand behind Shinji collapsing as both he and Asuka drops to the ground.

He looks up. Towering over the fair is the massive form of Sachiel, the Third Angel, and for a moment Shinji swears it is looking at _him._

And looking down, he sees his hand on Asuka's chest.

Yelping, he rolls off of her, grabbing her arm and pulling her up.

"Party's over," Shinji yells, "Let's get…"

An artillery blast hammers the Angel in the face as Shinji turns to find Sohryu standing in front of him, one hand holding his cell phone.

"Yeah, I see him," Sohryu yells, "Kozou, what Units are prepped? Got it."

He turns to Shinji and Asuka, who has currently developed a twitch on her forehead. Rei appears next to her, Shinji, to his credit and disappointment, not freaking out.

"Shinji, you're going to help me get everyone out of here," Sohryu says, "Rei, Unit 02's prepped for sortie. Get Asuka to base, now."

"Understood, Commander," Rei says, placing her hand on Asuka's shoulder, and the two vanish.

More artillery blasts hammer the Angel's face, the Angel stumbling back before turning its attention to the cannons.

"Take the night off, they said," Sohryu mutters.

* * *

Distracted as it was by artillery shells in the face and chest, it was in retrospect an easy enough matter to get everyone out of the fair grounds and onto a hill a good mile and a half away from the Angel. Currently, they watch as Sachiel stomps on the grounds, looking more annoyed, at least if Angels could emote, than anything.

"That stupid bastard."

Ken's date, Sakura, folds her arms and glares at the Angel, as Kaworu stares at her out of curiosity.

Standing next to them are Shinji, Hikari, Touji, and the Commander, watching as the Angel simply stares, waiting. What it is waiting for they are uncertain of, but as the lift opens two miles in the distance and Unit 02 rises, it turns to the red Eva.

"It's looking for a fight," Touji says, "What it is, bored?"

"Right," Shinji says, "Well…I think it's going to regret that."

Confused, Touji turns to Shinji, as Unit 02 charges-

"_Gott verdammte Sohn - von - a – Weibchen!_"

And kicks the Angel between the legs. Sachiel's face twists fully upside down, and with an unearthly groan the Angel collapses. On the hill, everyone stares, mouths agape. Hikari has her hands over her mouth, Ken's eyes are wide as saucers.

"That is _messed up!_" Touji screams.

They watch as Unit 02 begins stomping on the fallen Angels' face.

"_ES MÖCHTE DIE KANDARE SCHMECKEN! __**ES MÖCHTE DIE KANDARE SCHMECKEN!"**_

"What is she screaming," Shinji asks.

"You don't want to know," Sohryu responds.

More Germanic swear words follow, Unit 02 wailing on the Angel, smacking it across the country side before finally punting it into the sea, where it vanishes.

"I would've preferred she killed it, but I'll take my victories," Sohryu says with a sigh, bringing up his cell phone, "Alright, reel her in."

* * *

It took another hour for the cleanup crews to arrive. The festival was completely and utterly trashed, and the best guess for _why_ the Third Angel showed up just to stomp on their fun was 'just because.' No other information was forecoming, and the Commander left shortly after to do the paperwork this incident required.

Soon enough, Shinji found Asuka sitting on a bench overlooking the battleground. She was still in her kimono, but her hair was sticky and the fabric was wrinkled and streaked.

"Well, that went well," she mutters.

She stands, flecking flakes of dried LCL off her sleeve, and turns to him.

"What?" she asks.

He reaches into his pocket, taking out the necklace.

"I got this for you," he says, "I was going to give it to you, but…well, then the Angel showed up and you kicked its ass."

She stares at him as he continues.

"I…that was incredible," he says, "It really was. I'd be surprised if that thing wasn't afraid of you from now on."

She smiles, genuinely smiles at him. And then, she hugs him, laughing, Shinji hugging her back. They stand like that for a while, as the moon shines in the sky and the smoking remains of the festival smolder in the distance.

And on a hill out of sight, watching through binoculars, Sakura Hoshi grins.

"About damn time," she says.

She looks at the small, bone white ball in her hand and glares at it.

"Don't you complain to me," she says, walking back towards her apartment building, "You started it."


	11. Chapter 9

_Authors Note: Translations from German: _"_Gott verdammte Sohn - von - a – Weibchen!_" = _"You God Damned Son of a Bitch!"_

"_ES MÖCHTE DIE KANDARE SCHMECKEN! __**ES MÖCHTE DIE KANDARE SCHMECKEN!" = "**__It wants to taste the curb! __**It wants to taste the curb!**_"

* * *

Sub Commander Kozou Fuyutsuki, PhD, looks up from his endless mounds of paperwork, requisition forms, and budget proposals as someone knocks on his office door. He looks past his desk, past the sizeable office and rug, and at the doorway itself.

"Got a minute?" Pieter Sohryu asks.

Not waiting for a response, the Supreme Commander of NERV walks in, sipping at his coffee mug. It has been two days since the Second Child, for lack of better words, went Sick House on the Third Angel's ass. At this point, all that is left is cleanup and rescheduling.

"I had an idea," Sohryu says, leaning on Kozou's desk, "We're looking at the current timetable. If the Angels keep coming at the rate they have been, we're looking at somewhere between eighteen months to two years. Right?"

"That's correct," Kozou says, putting down his pen, "What's your idea?"

"Nearest high school to Tokyo-3's 35 miles north. We can't have the pilots that far away from the Geofront in case of an attack. We can homeschool them, but that's damage to their ability to socially interact. So what I think…"

"Build a high school," Kozou finishes, sitting back, "Alright. Say we do. They're graduating at the end of this year."

Pieter nods, sipping his coffee.

"Have the Evas assist in construction," he says, "Gets it done faster, and we get a PR victory. We'll keep the classes together, because we both know that every kid in the Pilot's class is a potential Pilot candidate. The teachers don't need security clearance because Section 2 tails the students."

Kozou nods, absently staring at an ammunition requisition form.

"The administration is another matter," he says, "The background check for a principal will take months. But you wouldn't be telling me this unless you had an idea. So who do you want running this school?"

Pieter sips his coffee for a long moment, then closes the lid of his mug.

"You."

* * *

In Central Dogma, the speakers crackle for a brief moment, before coming alive with the Sub Commander's voice.

"_Lieutenant Ibuki, please report to my office immediately."_

* * *

"What was that for?" Sohryu asks.

"I want her to give you a complete physical," he says, "So I can figure out at what point you _lost your mind!_"

Pieter sips his coffee.

"I take it you're not a fan of my idea."

"That's an understatement," Kozou tersely responds, "Pieter, why exactly are you choosing _me_ for this?"

"A), you know the pilots. B), I can trust you. C), I've been throwing the idea around of promoting Katsuragi and giving her more responsibilities. She takes over some of your load and I free you up to administer this school. D), You were a department head at your university. You _know_ how to administrate."

Kozou rubs the bridge of his nose, before turning and glaring at his superior officer.

"Too much hinges on everything the Committee tells us being foolproof," Pieter continues, "What if it's not? I'm not going to discontinue these kids' education at junior high level. If we make it through this, I want them to be able to live a relatively normal life afterwards."

"Japanese, European, or American?"

"Make it multi-cultural," Pieter says, "I can work in some sort of bonuses to senior staff to teach classes."

Kozou glares at him.

"Teach," he asks, as the door opens and Maya walks in, "You want…_Command staff_ to teach high school classes."

"It's a stretch, but lessens how many background checks we need," Pieter says, "I know most our science staff are more theorists than teachers but-"

"Commander?"

He turns to Maya, pushing up his glasses.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

"Sorry to interrupt," she says, "But…if you're looking for teachers, I have education credits."

Pieter and Kozou look at each other, then at her.

"You do," Kozou asks.

"I minored in education for my graduate degree," she responds, "Oh, Doctor Akagi said she would be in within the hour. Commander, if you have the time, she wanted you to meet her in the Dummy Plug chamber."

* * *

The elevator doors open, revealing a white, sterile hallway. He recognizes it to an extent. It is an infirmary area, but not one he has been in before. She takes his wrist and pulls him along, her normal chattiness and bravado subdued. She told him that, after the synch tests, there was someone he should meet.

Shinji agreed, and so he walks with Asuka down the hallway, past empty rooms and bright lighting.

The room is at the end of the hallway. She cautiously opens the door and leads him in, the only sounds other than their breathing the slow, steady ticks of machines and humming of electronics.

The bed is surrounded by chairs for visitors. The patient, herself…

The patient, Shinji realizes, looks almost exactly like Asuka. Red hair, lighter skin than her. Beautiful in a classically beautiful way. Her hands are folded on her stomach, her face peaceful and serene, as if she is only sleeping.

Not as if she has been in a coma for seven years.

"This is Kyoko Zeppelin Langely Sohryu," Asuka says, "My mother."

She pulls up a chair, sitting down, taking one of her hands and squeezing it.

"She was the designer of my Eva," she continues, "And she test piloted it. Mama's been down here since."

Shinji pulls a chair up, eyes going to her hand, then to her.

"This is what you fight for, isn't it," he asks.

"When I started, it was so I'd be the best," Asuka responds, "I told myself if I was the best, Mama would notice me. But…but not after she tried to kill herself. I mean, I'm not the best, right? Kaworu's got a better synch score than I do, Rei's…well, Rei's Rei, and you have more kills than me."

She smiles, faintly, her lips a tight line.

"So why would I fight to be the best," she asks, "What would that do? I fight for _her._ Maybe, when all the Angels are gone, we'll find some way to bring her back."

"Noble goal. Excuse me."

They turn in their seats just as Dr. Ikari walks in, holding a cooler in his left hand.

"Father," Shinji says.

Ikari acknowledges him with a nod, taking out a bag full of yellow fluid and disconnecting a similar bag from an IV drip.

"This is a new treatment for Doctor Sohryu," Gendo says, "It was actually developed by Shinji's grandfather."

The two stare at him as he makes connections to the bag.

"Your mother's father is not someone you met," he continues, "Mr. Ikari is on the funding committee for NERV. Neither of his children talked with him much. I deal with him out of necessity. That, and we are much alike."

Shinji sees the twitch on Asuka's mouth, but she grumbles to herself and turns back to her mother before she says anything.

"Uncle never talked about him," Shinji says.

"His choice."

He checks the bag one last time, takes the cooler, and walks out, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah," Asuka says, "I bet he's an a__hole just like him, to."

"I guess…"

"We're so lucky you don't take after your dad."

"I guess…"

She turns to him, sharply.

"It's just…," Shinji stammers, and shrugs, "My father's all I know. He's not going to tell me anything about my mother. Not anytime soon."

They fall silent, save for the steady beeping of the machinery.

"Don't quote me on this," she says, "But…there might be someone who can tell you…"

* * *

The doors open and Sohryu catches the tail end of an argument. Grunting something German and inappropriate, he walks into the large, dimly lit room to find one of his favorite _and_ least favorite people waiting.

"Doctor Akagi," Sohryu says, "I'm assuming you called me down here because you want me to shoot her."

Naoko Akagi gives the Commander a dirty look, scoffing and turning away, as Ritsuko rubs the bridge of her nose and gives Pieter a pained smile.

"Sorry you saw that, Commander," she says, "I just got back to check up on the Plug system. I've been in contact with NERV-America, and Unit-03 is two months away from final inspection and shipment."

Sohryu grunts, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Got it," he says, "So, we need to tell the Fifth."

"Yes. Start training her," Ritsuko says, "Shinji turned out well, but we can't rely on shoving an inexperienced child into an Eva any time an Angel shows up."

Naoko mutters something, folding her arms as she looks at the murky yellow tank surrounding them.

"Why's she here?" Sohryu asks.

"I'm here," Naoko says, interrupting Ritsuko before she can respond, "Because I helped Gendo crack the angel genome and create Rei. And I think I know what is happening to her."

* * *

Sub Commander Fuyutsuki looks up as someone knocks on his open door. At some point, he needs to remember to close it. Maybe lock it. And set up spike strips while he's at it. He looks up and finds to his surprise the Third Child standing in the doorway, with his not as common nowadays expression of a deer in headlights. It is around this time that Kozou realizes he hasn't said as much as two words directly to him since he arrived.

"Yes, Shinji?" he asks, "What can I do for you?"

Between Sohryu's idea for a school and the general maintenance of a multi-national paramilitary organization, there is little time he can put aside for small talk. He is patient, he is the foil to Sohryu's own bravado, but he wonders if this is just going to be another in a long line of distractions.

"Sub Commander, sir," Shinji says, "I…I wanted to know if I could ask you about my mother."

Well, maybe not. Maybe it turns out to be something absolutely vital. Depending on the perspective. The second most powerful man in Japan smiles, faintly, and gestures him forward.

"Take a seat, Shinji."

* * *

It was built in Chernobyl. A massive factory, deep in the ground, built in order to grow Abomination. Its caretakers know the outcome of their project. Some don't care. Some are motivated by curiosity of what will happen. Some are simply paid well. The labyrinthine facility is built antiseptic, more resembling a hospital than a factory of war. But it is such. It has built a weapon on the price of generations to come.

But today, they all pay in full.

The soil is first, then the roof of the facility. It does not tear away as much as rise, disassembling part by part. From the sky a shadow descends. A shadow in human form. Darkness trails behind him as he descends into the pit, his presence clouding their visions and minds as he floats before them.

"_You have done well,_" he says, his voice reverberating, "_In time, the Nine would have been enough to carry out your Instrumentality. You would have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams._"

A hand clad in brown and black leather extends towards the tank. It is over three hundred feet long, two hundred feet wide. The man's hand pulses with red light, and the locks on the tank release.

"_Unit 09._"

Beneath the shadows, two eyes glow bright blue.

"_**Rise.**_"

The air turns still and every monitor in the facility blinks out.

Then metal ruptures and a massive white, black lined hand bursts through the metal. Scientists and engineers begin screaming as the tank rips down the middle, a massive form tearing it open as two white feathered wings rise from its back.

Its long face splits in a toothy grin, two beady black eyes at the front of its snout. Its core displayed prominently on its chest and its long fingers dripping with yellow nutrient fluid, it peers for the first time on the human life around it.

And roaring, it sends its fist into the catwalks, pulverizing the flesh around it. It throws back its head and roars, glaring at the shadowed form floating before it…

And it bows.

* * *

"When your mother was working on her PhD, I was her advisor," Kozou says with a smile, "In fact, I ended up in a roundabout way introducing your parents. Sometimes to my regret."

Shinji tilts his head, eyes wide in a mix of confusion and astonishment.

"I've known your father for a long time, as well. Believe it or not, he was not the stoic he is today. He had a tendency of getting into trouble. I bailed him out on more than one occasion. And yes, in that way. He had a tendency of getting into bar fights."

"I find it hard to see my father like that."

"Your mother changed him," he continues, "She saw something in him. He went from an angry delinquent to the man he is today because of her. She threw herself into everything she could. Her projects, her marriage, and finally you. You have to understand something about your father. If your mother had not died, he probably wouldn't be that different today. He was never a doting, gushing father. He has always been standoffish, but is simply more constructive in being standoffish these days."

Shinji nods, hands folded in his lap.

"Watching the two was something else," Kozou continues, sitting back, "I assure you, Shinji, your mother was just as good at manipulating as your father is. Especially in getting your father to do anything she wanted."

Shinji smiles a little at the idea. Of his father cowering and scraping along behind...behind someone.

"I don't remember her very well," he finally says.

"Your father destroyed every picture he had of her following her death," Kozou says, quietly, "That was how badly it affected him. That was how much she meant to him."

"So there's no pictures of her, are there?"

Kozou sighs, face pensive, and reaches into his desk. He takes out an old, dusty, leather bound book, blowing off cobwebs and coughing before placing it on the desk.

"I saved a yearbook. From our college."

He opens the book, turning to a page, and a sad smile comes across his features. He turns it, and hands it to Shinji.

"Middle of the right page."

Shinji's eyes wander down, and finally come to the picture of a young woman with short brown hair, a smile on her face and features he swears he sees every time he looks in a mirror. In the picture, she is maybe ten years older than him, maybe less. The smile is directed at the camera, but for a brief moment, he remembers that same smile. The genuineness of it, the love and affection behind it.

"That is your mother. Yui Ikari. I never told your father I saved that picture."

Shinji's breath catches in his throat as he attempts to form the words. A thank you, gratitude, but he can tell that the reaction to finally seeing his mother's face is enough for the old man. Which is when the second part of the realization hits him.

"I...wait. She looks just like..."

For a moment, Kozou hopes that he will say she looks just like him, and leave it at that.

"...Rei."

But he is not so lucky.

The old man sighs. He reads the reports. Shinji knows of Rei's origins, knows of her abilities. He does not, however, know the full story. But, there is no getting out of this. Even if it ticks off Gendo, he might as well be the one to tell him.

"Shinji, there's a very good reason for that..."

* * *

Kaworu unlocks the door to the apartment and walks in, and finds a familiar face making coffee.

"Hello, Mr. Kaji," he says.

Kaji turns, sipping at his coffee, and waves to Kaworu.

"Hey, kid. Keep it down. Misato's sleeping off the wedding."

"Understood," Kaworu says, walking to the fridge, "You enjoyed yourselves?"

Kaji chokes on the coffee.

"I see," Kaworu says with a raised eyebrow, "I will not say anything. If anything, I imagine it will upset Pilot Sohryu. But she seems to be taking more interest in Shinji than anything else."

"Wait. Back up. When did that happen?"

Kaworu retrieves a can of soda, opening it and turning to his former bodyguard.

"There was a fair, Shinji asked Sohryu to it, and she accepted. They seem to be getting along quite well."

Kaji ponders that and shrugs.

"Huh. Well, at least that's two of you getting along. Is Ayanami still stabbing you?"

"I went with her."

Kaji begins choking again.


	12. Chapter 10

The walk up the steps to the classroom was, in retrospect, one of the longest walks in his life. It was because of the effect this would have on his family that Pieter decided to do this himself. Manila envelope under his arm and cold steel in his eyes and a rock in his gut, he walks up to the door of the classroom and wraps his knuckles on the open door.

The lecture stops and everyone wakes up, turning to the door. Visits are one thing, but it is not every day the military governor of Tokyo-3 pays a visit. The envelope under his arm is also cause for attention, and saying nothing, he turns to the class representative and gestures her over.

He has known the Horaki family since he moved his family to Tokyo-3 four years ago. Their middle child, Hikari, is Asuka's age, and helped her transition back into the public school system, and quickly became her friend.

Still, it is with the utmost respect and bowed eyes that Hikari stands in front of him in the hallway, which makes this even harder.

"Commander," the pig tailed girl says, "How can I help you?"

"Evangelion 03 will be shipped to Tokyo-3 soon," he says, "In advance of that, the Fifth Child has been chosen. All potential pilot candidates were matched brainwave-wise to the new Unit, and the one most likely to synch with it has been selected."

She nods, her intertwined hands tightening slightly.

"I understand. Who is the new pilot?"

Pieter sighs. Opening the envelope, he takes out the folder and hands it to her. He opens it, and sets it on the page with the selected candidate's picture and vitals.

* * *

Kozou Fuyutsuki looks up as the door opens and resigns himself to his fate. He knew this was coming. He knew this was to be expected. As the man stands in front of his desk with an angry twitch in his lip which is the most emotion he's seen him show in ten years, Kozou folds his hands in his lap and sits back.

"I don't believe you talked to him," Gendo Ikari says, voice deadpan but hiding the willingness to strangle the old man.

"Yui was the closest thing to a daughter I ever had," Kozou responds, "Which makes Shinji something like a grandson. Excuse me if I feel like indulging that, some time."

"I'm pretty sure what you felt for Yui was far from paternal."

"At the time, yes. But I'm old, Gendo. I've seen far too much flotsam and crap over the years for someone twice my age, and there are enough people running this place that when my favorite student's only child wants to know about his mother, I _can_ drop everything to tell him."

Gendo slumps into the chair in front of the desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You weren't going to tell him," Kozou says, "Let's face it. The memory of Yui is painful enough that you can't tell your son about her. That's the reason you didn't fight it, and encouraged it, when Sohryu went for custody of Rei-"

"Will you just _shut up?_"

Kozou stops in mid rant, sitting back.

"You have less right to feel suddenly paternal than I do," Gendo growls, "I abandoned my son, but you_ stood there._ You _let it happen._ If anything you just said was even remotely true, you would have said something _ten years ago."_

He folds his arms, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I don't give a _rat's ass_ that you told him about his mother. What I care about is that you just f___ed the entire scenario beyond recognition to gain Grampa points."

"The scenario's already f­­___ed, Ikari," Kozou says, eyes narrowing, "Or haven't you noticed? The Angels are appearing out of order, the Third Angel refuses to f___ing die, and we go months at this point without one of them appearing. Not to mention there is never any mention in the Scrolls of what we have on the _f___ing Moon_, and then there's _Rei._"

* * *

There is a warble in the air in front of him. Then the light accelerates and everything, every_when_ swerves in front of him, spiraling in and out of perspective as the hallway outside the classroom shifts into a feature of white light, and coalesces into the rooftop of the school.

In reaction to this, Shinji stumbles to the nearby bucket and empties the contents of his stomach. Rei watches, impassively, as her fellow pilot throws up, raising her eyebrows before tucking her legs underneath her and floating.

He said he wanted to talk. Somewhere private. So, she expedited things and teleported them both to the roof. Asuka has warned him of side effects.

Kaworu had no side effects, though.

Why do her thoughts keep wandering to him? Her heartbeat accelerates when thinking about him. Before, her body would have a different reaction. Something along the lines of the need to find a hammer. Maybe she should talk to Dr. Akagi about this.

"Oh…oh _God_…"

Even being raised alongside Asuka, she has never truly explored feelings like this. Unlike her sister, she does not have a crush on Mr. Kaji. She does not flirt, or berate, boys.

"I don't remember eating that…"

She is 'good cop' to Asuka's 'bad cop'…no, no. Hikari is 'good cop.' She is 'forensics.' She examines everything from a dispassionate point of view. Turning to the sound of the thud, she sees Shinji on his back, breathing heavily, eyes wide and dazed.

"You wished to speak with me?"

* * *

"As you are both well aware at this point, Rei was created with a purpose in mind. She is one part human, one part Lilith, and as such is capable of abilities far above and beyond the human norm. At their full extension, under tightly controlled circumstances, she would be able to initiate a mass human mental conversion, better known as Instrumentality."

Spinning in the swivel chair, Naoko Akagi allows herself a moment to appreciate her daughter's stoic expression and Pieter's thinly veiled impatience. The other member of the group in the Dummy Plug chamber, Lieutenant Ibuki, watches patiently.

"Now, that was the original idea," Naoko says, "When Gendo and I proposed the idea and Ikari himself created her. However, what is happening now is not part of the original scenario..."

Pieter groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Stepping back as Naoko begins going into the nitty-gritty details, he runs a hand through his hair as Ritsuko elbows him in the side.

"How did it go," she asks.

"About as well as it could," he responds, "I have to head up after she finishes, so I can get chewed out by my daughter."

She glares at him.

"You…_didn't…_tell her?"

He shrugs.

"…which more or less means that Rei's lived about three times longer than planned."

Maya's expression has changed from patience to pursing her lips and glaring at Naoko's back. The clip board in her hand as shaking, and Ritsuko pats her on the shoulder.

"Let me go over that again," Naoko says, "As Pieter was too busy flirting with my daughter to listen."

Ritsuko palms her face and Pieter glares, folding his arms.

"The best way to determine if what is happening to Rei is good or bad is to awaken another Rei."

"Wait…what?" Sohryu asks, "How do we…_awaken…_a second Rei?"

"The purpose behind the Dummy Plug backups Rei does is twofold," Naoko says, leaning back in her chair, "First, it updates the full knowledge database regularly. Secondly, it backs up Rei. Each Plug is a genetic copy of Rei. Should something happen to her, such as, say, dying, another is brought out and uploaded with Rei's memories."

"What is _wrong _with you?"

Naoko turns to the young lieutenant, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry?"

"What my assistant is asking," Ritsuko interrupts, "Is why you're so casual about the scheduled deaths of a fifteen year old girl."

Naoko rolls her eyes, turning back to the computer.

"I'm not saying kill Rei and bring out another one-"

"Because that didn't work when _you_ tried it," Sohryu growls.

"I'm saying run '_conception'_ and see what happens. If another Plug becomes active, we can see if the others mutate along similar lines to the First."

She turns back to the group, and slumps her shoulders, staring at their confused expressions.

"…'Conception'?" Sohryu asks.

"…right," Naoko says, rubbing her eyes, "This will take a while."

* * *

After some convincing, Rei stopped floating and sat on the rooftop across from Shinji. The boy is obviously flustered and a little disturbed, and for a moment Rei believes it is because she was floating high enough for him to see her panties. If he did, then Asuka's response would be to smack him upside the head and refer to him as a pervert.

Except that Asuka has not done so. In fact, she seems to hold of him a higher opinion than any other boy her age. Which makes him subhuman in Asuka's eyes, instead of bestial.

She has known many subhumans. She has known many animals. She has never met Dr. Akagi's cat, though. On the rare occasion she would be in the Doctor's house when her _mother_ was not there, the cat would hide and hiss. Of course, it should be scared of her.

The Commander once tried to indulge Asuka and her and take them to a horse ranch near NERV Germany.

The proprietor of the ranch was paid off handsomely following the incident.

"Ayanami?"

Rei turns to Shinji, silent as she tends to be.

"Yes, Pilot Ikari?"

"I…I just talked with the Sub Commander," he says, sitting up against the stairwell housing, "I…he and I had a talk about my mother, because he knew her. He knew her before my father did, and unlike everyone else who did, he wanted to…you know, talk about her, and…"

He looks up to find Rei on her hands and knees in front of him, and he yelps, narrowly missing the vomit bucket as he falls back.

"W-w-what are you doing?"

"I am examining your expression," she says.

"Uh…um…why?"

"I am seeing if I can reach the point before you do."

At this point she's almost on top of him, studiously examining his expression at it turns from surprise to…horror? Is it horror she sees in his eyes?

"The Sub Commander told me everything," he squeaks, "About you."

His eyes dart from side to side, and for a moment he considers his options and then gently takes Rei by the waist and moves her off of him. For a moment, there is relief. Then he stares into the face of his doom. The twin pools of anger, terror, and pain before him that he knows will be that which consumes him.

"Hi, Asuka."

She slams the door shut, Kensuke's pained moaning echoing from the other side as he falls down the stairwell. She does not move otherwise. She only stares, she only glares, as if by sight alone she could cause him to burst into flames.

"I know how this looks," Shinji says.

She slowly folds her arms, as the door to the stairwell opens and Touji now peaks his head out.

"_Damn,_" he says, "Going for the sister to, Shin-man?"

"Wait, _what,_" Ken asks, rubbing his nose as he peaks his head out next to the jock, "Seriously? He was getting it on with _Rei?!_ And he never _told us?_"

"What. Happened."

The words that come from Asuka's lips are like gravel, accentuated by her cracking her knuckles. It is never the wisest thing to upset a teenage girl, especially when the scene upsetting her is when the one who has befriended her has subsequently betrayed her trust.

The words must be carefully chosen, and processing the days events, Shinji summarizes the past few hours as his explanation, and hopefully as his pardon.

"I just found out Rei is my sister."

* * *

Finding the cafeteria empty of his usual lunch mates, Kaworu homes in on the areas he will be needed. He has not told anyone, but he has a mild level of empathic abilities. Not just the ability to read people, but also to sense emotion, to a limited degree. He has not been honest on just how much he has inherited from his other father, and may change that soon.

However, that can wait. Placing his tray down, he sits on the bench on the girl's table, much to the astonishment of everyone else, and calmly unwraps his utensils before staring at what he believes may be pizza, but is not sure.

"Good afternoon, Miss Horaki," he says.

Hikari snaps out of her daze, and looks up at Kaworu with a puzzled expression.

"I saw that Asuka was not with you," he says, "You look like you could use company. Is something wrong?"

She bites her lip, picking at her lunch.

"Since the Commander came by this morning, you seem to have become upset," he continues, "Did he say something that upset you? If he did, I may have to talk with him."

He sighs, smiling at her.

"After all, military leader or not, it is not becoming of him to make a girl as pretty as you upset."

"A new Eva's arriving soon," she says, finally, "He…he told me who the pilot for it will be. You know, the Fifth Child?"

"I see," Kaworu says, his smile fading, "Of course. You are friends with most of the class, and now you realize one of them will be put in harms way. Who did he say is the new pilot? It's not…Suzuhara, is it? I know that you have become closer to-"

"No," Hikari says, "No, it's not him. It's not any of them."

Her lip trembles, and when she does look in Kaworu's eyes he sees they are red and dry.

"It's me," she says, "I'm the Fifth Child."

* * *

"The Sub Commander told me that my father used my mother's DNA to create Rei. He mixed it with DNA from something else, one of the Angels, and used my mother's eggs. I think."

Shinji scratches his head, sitting on the roof with Asuka, Rei, and the two boys.

"I asked him, and he said that this _does_ make her my half-sister," he says, "It's a little bit of a shock to me."

"Dr. Ikari originally planned to raise me," Rei says, "I am, in a way, his daughter as well."

"I saw how he planned to raise you," Asuka growls, "It makes what he did to Shinji look pleasant."

She palms her face, swearing in German.

"Sorry," she says.

"It's…it's okay," Shinji says, running his hand through his hair, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to find us like that. It's just that I took so long getting to the point and-"

"I am surprised you did not already know."

They turn to Rei. Asuka raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"I…should have known," he asks.

"Yes."

"How," he asks, "I didn't know that you were cloned from my mother, or about angels, or about-"

"Because," Rei interrupts, "If it were not for our differing genitalia, you would notice that we have the same body type."

With that, she gets up and walks down the stairwell. Asuka watches her go, and Shinji takes a moment to consider what she said as his two friends break out into peals of laughter. Finally, fuming, he turns to them.

"Hey," Shinji shouts, "I don't look _like a girl!_"

He gets up, walking to the stairwell and making it a point to do so as masculine as possible. He almost makes it to the stairs before Kaworu bursts through the stairway, both of them dropping and Kaworu mumbling an apology before climbing off.

"Excuse me," he says, and turns to Asuka, "You need to go to the cafeteria. _Right now._"

* * *

Feet up on his desk, Sohryu looks over blueprints and schematics as the sun dips down behind him. Ikari has told him that he has secured the identities of the Jet Alone designers and they will be at the Geofront tomorrow. Looking up, he watches as Ritsuko walks in and sits down on his desk.

"That went well," he says.

"Which part? You mean the part where Mother partially activated memories in the Dummy Plug and they started throwing themselves against the glass to attack her?"

"I'm showing that at Christmas parties," Sohryu mutters, "Testament to my girl's emotional control."

"If Rei lacked emotional control, we would have been dead five years ago."

He looks at his watch, grimacing.

"What?"

"School let out an hour ago," Sohryu says, "Let's see…three…two…one…"

The door swings open, and Ritsuko turns to find Asuka stomping in, manila folder under her arm, screaming Germanic swear words as Sohryu calmly goes over the weapon blueprints.

"She found out," Ritsuko says, standing, "Hello, Asuka."

Asuka glares at her, and shaking her head, Ritsuko calmly walks over and yanks the folder out of her hands.

"Shall I act as an intermediary?" she asks.

"I'm pretty sure she's not going to talk directly to me," Sohryu says, sipping his coffee, "Especially since I don't listen when she swears."

"How you've survived this long is a testament to your patience, Pieter."

Sohryu snorts.

"Are you flirting with me, Doctor?"

"Of course not," Ritsuko says with a smirk, "Maya would kill you if you tried anything."

She opens her mouth to begin a long, level, reasonable explanation on why Asuka was not told ahead of time that her best friend was chosen to pilot Eva. It would have gone thoroughly into synch potential and how her best friend was the top choice. However, none of that happens.

Mainly because every alarm in the base goes off.

"_BLUE PATTERN DETECTED!_"

All three wince.

"We've got to talk to Makato about lowering the volume on his console," Sohryu mutters, pressing the intercom button, "Lieutenant? What's the status?"

"_Blue Pattern detected, Commander,_" Maya's voice announces, "_Angel Designation: Baraqijal. Sir, it's not approaching Tokyo-3!_"

Sohryu looks at Akagi, then back to the intercom.

"Where is it?"

"_It's approaching NERV-Germany! They are requesting permission to launch Unit-05!_"

"Give it," he says, standing up, "I'm on my way."

He turns to Asuka, nodding to her.

"We'll talk when this's over. Let's go."

_

* * *

System activation._

_Barrier one: PASS_

_Limb control system: START_

_Power Supply: CONNECT_

_Barrier two: PASS_

_Syncrhonization: START._

The walls of the plug honeycomb, becoming a distorted view of the hangar. Most of her face hidden by the helmet and visor, hands in the full arm controls and attached to green wires, the girl grins as she becomes one with her chariot.

_Syncrhonization at 49%._

_Unit 05: START_


	13. Meet Mari

It flitters along the air above Berlin, its face ending in a skull and beak, a large, bulbous sphere at the end of its tail. This is a design choice, mainly because of the impact of the sphere as it whips its entire body, smashing through a city block as it descends onto the capital of Germany.

It searches, turning around, whipping its clubbed tail and ripping up the city around it. It pays little head to the alarm klaxons or the little humans scattering around it…until somewhere nearby, at the heart of the city, a metal plate retracts and two metal poles two hundred feet high rise up.

With a rush of electricity and air, something ascends.

Massive, covered in orange piped, gunmetal gray armor, a single glowing eye on the tip of its elongated forehead and a honeycomb of opaque gold plates by its nose, it stands on four legs, each ending not in feet but claws and wheels.

In the cockpit, set directly in the brain cavity of the Eva, the pilot grins, the display on her head lighting up.

"_I presume this is Ms. Mari Makinami?_"

Raising an eyebrow at the voice coming from her earpiece, she turns slightly.

"That is would be," she says, her voice carrying an English accent, "Who am I speaking with, and can I take a message?"

"_This is Commander Pieter Sohryu. We're watching via remote feed from Tokyo-3. I want to remind you, I'm from Germany. That thing in front of you is wrecking my hometown. Kick. It's. Ass."_

She grins. On the outside, Unit 05 spins the drill at the end of its right arm and clamps the claw on its left.

"Sir, yes sir. Unit-05 is now engaging the Angel."

* * *

"It has a drill," Misato says, staring at Unit 05 on the floating holographic screen, "Why does it have a drill?"

Next to her, Ritsuko shrugs.

"Why not?"

* * *

Squatting on four legs, Unit 05 launches itself, bringing one clawed foot up and clamping it around the Angel's face, riding it to the ground. The clawed arm comes down on the midsection, twisting and cracking bone as the single eye of the Eva glows brightly, its power cord falling down over a city part.

A claw from the Angel strikes out, digging into Unit 05's shoulder. In the cockpit, Mari grunts, and then repays the favor by stomping on the Angel's face.

The Angel flips, throwing Unit 05 on its back, rising in the air and spinning its weighted tail into the Eva's side, tossing it across Berlin.

"_Ms. Makinami? The idea is to try to kill the Angel WITHOUT destroying the city._"

"Sorry, busy here."

The Eva rolls to its feet, engaging the wheels, and charges.

* * *

They watch as Unit 05 speeds along the Spree River, dodging thrown bone shards from the Angel as it launches itself into the air via jump jets on its dorsal.

"What is that," Asuka asks, standing next to Misato, "That thing looks nothing like my Unit 02."

"Unit 05's full designation is Provisional Evangelion 05," Ritsuko explains, "It's not technically an Evangelion, but a test bed for proposed Evangelion technologies. First off, it's technically the same biologically, but the genetics were tweaked."

"With what," Misato asks.

"Jumping spider. Instead of the spine, the Entry Plug is located in the cerebellum. It is designed for close quarters combat at multiple angles and more strictly mobile. I understand NERV-Germany is using it to test out exotic weapons systems, to-"

On the screen, the Eva and the Angel crash into a city block, throwing up debris and smoke as Sohryu stands up and screams, hands in his hair as he stares in disbelief.

"Oh for F___'S SAKE! _That was my favorite bar!"_

"That monster," Kozou deadpans.

* * *

The Eva lands on its feet, and in the Plug, Mari smirks, showing teeth as the Angel hovers in front of her. A mental command causes the clawed hand of her Eva to shift into a cutting blade.

"Okay, then," she says, "I'm going to you apart so slowly you'll think it's a _career._"

The Angel dives as she charges. It swipes at her with its claw, and her Eva ducks out of the way, bringing the blade around as it severs it, painting Unit 05's face with fresh blood as she drives the drill into the skeletal cage surrounding the core.

The Angel's face twists, a sound like a clock ticking filling the air as it twists its entire body and drives its club towards her. Quickly, fluidly, two of the legs come up, their clawed appendages opening and catching the weight, bracing on the other knees for a moment before leaping up and kicking the Angel across the city.

* * *

"Aaaand there goes our first apartment," Sohryu mutters.

Standing next to Misato at this point, the Supreme Commander looks on with muted horror and fascination as his home city continues to be trashed. The UN will not look kindly on this. Of course, if Unit 05 took the Angel a few dozen miles west and accidentally face-slammed it on the Chairman's estate, he would be getting more than an earful.

More likely, he'd get a bullet to the head.

"Good to see little Mari's all grown up," Misato deadpans.

A severed arm from the Angel crashes into a hill in a public park.

"That was our favorite make out spot," Pieter says, "I think Kyoko and I made Asuka there."

Next to Misato, Asuka stares at her father, eyes wide and face turning pale. Misato palms her face and Ritsuko turns to him, pursing her lips.

"This is your plan?" she asks, "Traumatize your daughter until she can't yell at you?"

He shrugs, grabbing the wired walkie talkie from Aoba's console and clicking it on.

* * *

"_It's pretty impressive how well you can wreck the city, but the Angel needs to be taken down, Pilot. I'm guessing it's not on vacation and seeing the sights. Take it out before it finds what it's looking for!_"

Mari mutters swears to herself, almost casually severing the club from the Angel's tail before willing her Eva on. Unit 05 drops back, jump jets activating before all four legs slam into the Angel and launch it upwards.

"_We're reading an energy spike…the Angel's preparing to SELF DESTRUCT!_"

Mari grins.

"Activate AT Drill."

* * *

Sohryu and Misato both stare at Ritsuko.

"Ah, NERV-Germany and it's history of wretched excess," she says, rubbing her hands, "_This_ should be good."

"I thought you said they still had some kinks to work out," Misato states.

"Well, yes," Akagi says, stretching her arms above her head, "So either it works, and Unit 05 kills the Angel, or the Angel detonates and glasses Berlin."

* * *

The core glows as Unit 05 vaults up structures, hopping from building to building as its power cord detaches and its back jets fire. The drill on the end of the right arm begins spinning at full speed, as the orange and red AT field coalesces around her and surrounds the weapon.

Inside the plug, Mari has gone from smiling to laughing maniacally. Depressing the trigger, she wills her chariot onward, and it draws back the weapon as it reaches full power.

"I've lived my life for this moment!"

_AT Drill at full power. Target locked on._

One shot, one kill. Clean. Efficient. Professional.

F___ that.

"_GIGA!_"

The Eva reaches the Angel, the jets on the back of the drill firing.

"_DRILL!_"

She slams the control forward.

**"_BREAKER!_"**

The AT Field around the Angel shreds like jell-o in a wood chipper, and the drill slams into and through the Core, coming out the other side as the motion of the drill sends bits of Angelic material raining down like snow.

The light leaves the Angel's eyes, before the body glows and explodes in a blast of light, heat, and force.

The city itself is untouched, the air shaking and some glass cracking, before Unit 05 gracefully descends on its jets…

And it pumps its arms in the air, the pilot taking a victory lap before descending down the lift elevator.

* * *

"I'm going to have to kill that girl," Sohryu says.

"I like her," Misato responds, arms folded, "Can we get her? You know, trade one of the pilots?"

"No."

Sohryu rubs his eyes, walking away and snatching his daughter by the arm, pulling her with him up the stairs to his station, where Kozou is now sitting.

"Asuka and I are going to chat," he says, "Bridge is yours, Professor."

Kozou nods, hands folded on his desk as the elevator doors close. Her clears his throat, waiting as the bridge crew turns to him.

"Get me the commander of NERV-Germany," he says, "And also tell him to explain to me in no less than three hundred words why he is not going to be immediately fired."

They nod, quickly scrambling to their jobs. Their backs turned to him, he smiles. Maybe he _will_ do that school idea, after all.


	14. Chapter 11

The doors to the massive office open, and Katsuragi walks in, folder under her arm and silent. She walks to the front of the desk, folding her hands, and waits. The back of the chair is turned to her, and the mood in the office solemn, and after a minute, he speaks.

"I explained to Asuka that the Fifth Child's the best qualified candidate to pilot Unit-03," Sohryu says, "She's still angry. She's _pissed._"

"That you didn't tell her, or that it's her best friend?"

"I don't _like_ this, Katsuragi. I don't like that we're sending teenagers to die."

"Sir, if any officer at NERV could activate an Evangelion, we would."

She chides herself, mentally. She's starting to sound like Ritsuko when _she_ justifies what they do.

"The Chancellor of Germany is not very happy that we wrecked much of downtown Berlin. I calmly explained that if we didn't, the Angel would have wrecked _all_ of Berlin."

"Have you talked with Mr. Horaki yet, Commander?"

Sohryu groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Take Rei off of training duty for Shinji. Asuka and Kaworu will continue his training. Rei will focus on the Fifth. Have Ikari schedule synchronization tests for her. Until Unit-03 arrives, see if she can train as a backup pilot for one of the other Evas…maybe try Unit 01, first."

Katsuragi sharply salutes.

"Sir."

"Dismissed."

She turns and walks out, as Pieter turns to his desk and takes out a clipboard. Popping open the draw with the office phone, he dials the number, holding the receiver to his ear as the dial tone rings.

"Hello, Mr. Horaki?"

The voice on the other end answers affirmatively.

"This is Commander Sohryu. I need to talk to you about your daughter…"

* * *

Mother is already home. She'll deal with her when and if she leaves the office tonight. It's already five o'clock, and sitting in her office, deep within the base, a few floors above the Dummy Plug room and the entrance to Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko looks up from reports and diagrams and at the single picture decorating her desk.

It was taken six years ago, right after she came aboard. Right after she took her mother's job after that one decision that changed…everything.

The nine year old Asuka, despite being quite prominently in a frilled dress, is standing as tall as any boy her age, with her father behind her. Rei is standing next to her, dressed the same, the faded colors of the photo losing the distinction of Asuka in red and Rei in white. Behind Rei is her. Her hands are on the girl's shoulders, gazing into the camera, only a thin smile on her lips.

It was five words that changed her life.

_"Do you have any kids?_"

She smiles, faintly. At that point, she was quickly falling into the same hole as her mother. If she was just wandering around, not looking in particular for Rei, she could have just watched. If she was not there to stop her, her mother would have killed Rei. If she had, well, the doctors said she was addled at that point, maybe suicidal.

Maybe she wouldn't hate her mother like she does now, if she had just died that day and taken her sins with her.

"Sempai?"

She turns her chair, finding Maya standing in the doorway.

"Yes, Maya?"

"Sorry to disturb you, but all the analysis on NERV-Germany's end is done. It'll take all night to download, so we're heading out to celebrate. Do you want to come?"

Ritsuko checks the clock on her desk and grimaces, shaking her head.

"No, I still have things here. Thank you for offering, Maya."

Maya nods, smiling, and looks past her at the picture. She says nothing, beaming, and walks out. Of course, Ritsuko knew what she would say. That they look like a little family in the picture. Parents and kids, with her definitely looking like Rei's mother.

Leaning on her elbow as she takes another folder out of the pile, she thoughtfully chews the end of her pen, her thumb wandering on the picture to Sohryu's face.

Well, yes. Maybe she does flirt with Sohryu. Maybe she does, indeed. But he is taken, and more importantly, he has been a friend. Anything else would destroy that friendship, and end their professionalism, just like her mother did.

If anything else, Ritsuko Akagi, PhD, prides herself in _not_ being her mother.

* * *

Two hours later.

Kicking off his shoes and placing them carefully at the main doorway, Kaworu Nagisa finds himself the first person home. Asuka ran off to NERV after lunch, Shinji joined his friends first in comforting the Class Representative and later helping her home, and Rei...well, he's not sure exactly where Rei is, himself. And, because there was that Angel attack, Misato is most likely at NERV. He looks down at the sound of the slapping footsteps, to find Pen Pen standing in front of him and not especially pleased.

"_WARK!_"

"Ah, yes. You wish to be fed."

"_Wark._"

"Really? Well, I never thought of your relationship with them that way. He'll be home later, but I know how to feed you, to."

Scratching the back of his head, Kaworu walks to the fridge and takes out a tray of grilled anchovies Shinji made the night before. Taking Pen Pen's dish from the drying rack, he warms the food in the microwave, humming classical music to himself.

Popping the tray out, he places the dish before Pen Pen with a smile.

"Bon Appetite."

With an approving nod of his beak, the penguin picks up the dish and walks into his freezer. Kaworu shrugs, walking to the refrigerator. Taking a can of soda for himself, he walks to the futon, idly pulling off his school bag and taking out his notebook. His father, for lack of a better term, made sure he had the finest education money could buy, but he never actually enrolled him in a school. Understanding the subject matter is easy enough. But what he was never educated in was socializing, and that truly fascinates him.

He clicks the remote, turning on the television as he begins his routine of clicking through every channel Misato subscribes to. Or at least, until the doorbell rings.

Sighing, he climbs to his feet. Opening the door, he smiles, and looks up at the imposing bodyguards in black suits. He recognizes them from his earlier years, and looks past them to the aged, black robed figure standing in front of him.

"Hello, Kaworu," Kihl Lorenz says, his voice less a greeting and more growl and spittle.

"Good afternoon, Chairman," Kaworu responds, "I was just about to make popcorn. Would you like to join me?"

There is a crash, and the two guards turn, both father and clone turning to look past them. Misato stares at them, and quickly collects her groceries.

"It appears we have company," Kaworu says, "I do warn you, Chairman. My guardian's cooking has something of an odd texture to it. Some believe it may be inedible."

Kihl Lorenz grins. It is a thoroughly unpleasant sight.

"I've had worse."

* * *

"I'm sorry, repeat that again. _WHO_ is in your apartment?"

Standing out of his desk's chair, Sohryu's eyes go wide as saucers as he listens to his ops commander. Standing in front of his desk, Kozou raises an eyebrow in question as Sohryu nods, mutters something in German, and grabs papers and folders, stuffing them into his carry bag.

"On my way," he says, and slams the phone down.

"Not good?" Kozou asks.

"Chairman Kihl is sitting in Katsuragi's apartment and making small talk with Nagisa," Sohryu says as Kozou's eyes go wide in shock, "This is very, very far from _not good."_

He walks past Kozou, tucking his bag under his arm.

"You're in charge!"

And he runs out.

* * *

The guards have disappeared. They aren't outside the front door and nowhere in the apartment, so Misato wonders exactly how this old man, this old _blind_ man with a visor and pressed suit and robe/overcoat is going to defend himself from any attackers, but then again, he probably has snipers on all the nearby buildings.

Kaworu is currently _talking to him about his date with Rei._ Misato wraps that idea around her head for a few moment. Her ward, her second ward, is giving _date details_ to the most powerful man in the world.

She needs a beer.

The door bursts open. Misato palms her face and mutters to herself, standing in the kitchen. Next to Kaworu, Pen Pen looks at the doorway as Asuka storms in.

"Of course, I had a doorbell installed _for a reason,_" Misato says.

"How long _did you know?_" Asuka demands.

"Company."

Asuka whirls, ready to give the visitor a piece of her mind…and freezes, eyes going wide. On the easy chair, Kihl smiles and gives off a small, playful wave.

"Sohryu's daughter," he says, "You've grown up well."

"Misato!"

Shinji skids to a stop in the doorway, running past the living room. Misato stares at him, Asuka not even turning to him, and panting, hands on his knees, Shinji looks up and catches his breath.

"Misato, I can't find-"

"Shinji."

He stops, looking up at his guardian. She points to the living room, and Shinji turns, staring at the old man. Quickly, he bows respectfully.

"I'm sorry for interrupting."

He then grabs Asuka by the arm and pulls her out. They go quiet, Misato watching them leave, and she slowly turns back to the Chairman.

"Ah, yes," Kihl says, "That was Ikari's son, wasn't it, Kaworu?"

"It was. He's been a good friend to me these past months."

"Yes. He's definitely more respectful than his father."

* * *

After Asuka stopped screaming, she started hyperventilating. Breathing into a paper bag and sitting on the bench on the roof, he stares at her as the normally unflappable fellow pilot shakes and shudders. Slowly, carefully to avoid setting her off, he sits down. He doesn't remember the old man, but figures if he knows Kaworu, he can't be all bad.

"That," Asuka finally says, "Was Lorenz Kihl. He's my _father's boss._"

Shinji stares at her for a moment. Seeing her like this, frightened, is a new experience for him. Not knowing why is also new.

"Kaworu…didn't seem to have a problem with him."

"That is because he's technically my father."

They both turn to find Kaworu standing at the roof's entrance. His face has a new element to it. There is no ever-present smile. Instead, he is looking pensive, almost brooding as he walks towards and past them.

"The Commander arrived. He and the Chairman are talking," Kaworu continues, "I was created the same way Ayanami was. A mixture of the Chairman's cells and an angel, and to his disappointment I was no more special than any human."

He calmly, very calmly, hops onto the roof's railing, walking along it as if it were a sidewalk, despite it being the only barrier between him and a significant drop.

"Oh, don't worry," he says, "I'm not suicidal. And I'll get to the point soon enough. You see, my 'father' made me for a reason, and when that reason turned false, he was at a loss of what to do. So, he had me raised. As you can see, he is quite old. I am told my childhood was charming, but at the same time I do not know if it was."

Sighing, he tips back and forth, eyes looking upward, skyward.

"He found a purpose for me, later. That I could pilot Unit 04. Of course, there is a problem with that. You see, my 'father' is one of the most capable liars on the planet."

He hops off the railing, and smiles.

"And so am I. Asuka is afraid of him for a reason. Shinji, I assure you that your act of respect towards him would have saved Asuka's life if he was in a sour mood."

Shinji stares at his room mate as Asuka finally puts away the paper bag. Continuing to smile, Kaworu begins to walk towards the stairs.

"We should go."

"Go…where?" Shinji asks.

"To the base, of course."

Shinji looks at Asuka, then at Kaworu.

"Why?"

Kaworu smiles wider, turning to them.

"Well…because of the Angel, of course."

* * *

"Some on the Committee do not appreciate your method of interacting with the Children, Commander. They use the old phrase, 'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' From experience, that is because their own parents did not spare the rod and left them in the state where they have no _legitimate_ children of their own."

For all Sohryu knows, his bodyguards are hiding in trees. That is the only reason he can think of for him and Kihl walking in the part near Katsuragi's apartment building. To the outside observer, it is two men walking and discussing matters. Sure, one is more than a little old and walking with a decorated walking stick which probably cost more than an Evangelion, but it is nothing that calls attention.

"I take it you disagree," Pieter says.

"I am not of thse members of the Committee. Your method of dealing with the pilots has produced results _I_ am pleased with. You provide a firm hand, and you have earned their trust. The last Angel to attack Tokyo-3 did not get within a dozen miles of the city. As long as you are on my side, I know the Children will not turn against me."

"As long as the Committee keeps the best interests of NERV at heart, I am on your side," Sohryu responds.

"The Scenario is changing," Kihl says, his face unreadable, "The…source material…is proving inaccurate. You will adapt. The Scenario will adapt. Changes may be imminent."

"And the Project?"

"Uncertain."

The words leave Kihl's mouth like a curse. The Project. Or, as Akagi referred to it as, Instrumentality. Any explanation to Pieter goes in one ear and out the other. Something about completing people. Making God.

"As such, there shall be adjustments," Kihl says, "Timetable has been sped up for Evangelion construction. The Ninth Angel's attack on Berlin has shown us the Angels are not as predictable as we believed. And that your approach should be emulated."

He stops, turning to Sohryu. Pieter adjusts his jacket, making sure not to flinch or fidget. The old man in front of him could have him killed and all records of his existence erased if he displeased him. More than anyone else on the planet, this is a person to be afraid of.

"What's your idea?" Pieter asks.

"In two weeks time, the Children will join me for a week at my estate in Germany. I believe it is time for them to know who they report to."

Sohryu folds his arms, staring at the old man.

"The logistics involved in transporting my four pilots and support staff will take more than two weeks-"

"The arrangements have been made, Commander. This is the point where you say, 'Yes, Chairman.'"

Pieter stares at him, and finally thrusts his hands into his pockets.

"Yes. Chairman," he says, "The Pilots would enjoy a week away from Tokyo-3. As would I."

Kihl stares at him.

"You are the Commander of NERV."

"And we both agree my being parted from my daughters would hamper my ability to efficiently run NERV. This is why my second would be happy to take over for a week. Besides, I don't think I've ever taken a vacation."

Kihl stares at him, hands leaning on his cane.

"Very well. The pilots, and you-"

"And Captain Katsuragi."

Kihl snaps his head at him.

"Sorry to interrupt," Pieter says, "But I am planning on promoting her soon. This would give us an opportunity to discuss such matters in a relaxed atmosphere. Besides which, she _is_ Shinji and Kaworu's legal guardian."

"Yes, yes. Anyone else?"

"Doctor Akagi. Someone _does_ have to take care of Rei."

There is a sound coming from Kihl. It sounds like grinding wheels and escaping gas, and considering how much of the man has to be mechanical it may as well be.

"Is there anything else, Commander. Perhaps you would like to ship an Evangelion while I'm in a good mood?"

"Of course not. That would be ridiculous. You already have one in Berlin. How is Mari, nowadays?"

Stamping his cane, Kihl continues walking, Pieter by his side.

And as if on cue, every alarm in Tokyo-3 goes off.

* * *

Screens in Central Dogma blink into existence, showing an area fifty miles outside of the city limits. It is a grassy plane and covered in hills, and in it is standing a two hundred and fifty foot tall, thin human-like monster with a skull face and two red cores at its chest.

"_Blue Pattern Detected!_" Maya's voice shouts, "_Angel is on approach to Tokyo-3! All hands to alert stations!_"

Screens pop up, centering on the Angel, showing it from different angles as it begins to lazily walk.

"_Tenth Angel is confirmed! MAGI designation: Israfel!_"


	15. Chapter 12

The screen pops up, showing a real-time image from inside the entry plug. Rei was already on base when the Angel showed up, which probably meant she knew it was coming. The other three showed up soon after. This is more or less all Misato wished for in this case, sipping at her coffee as Maya reads off procedures.

"_Third stage reached. Synchronization holding at 53%._ _Unit 00 activated._"

"Seven points higher," Misato says, "Is it because she has a boyfriend?"

Next to her, Ritsuko snorts.

"_Third stage reached. Synchronization holding at 66%. Unit 02 activated._"

Misato leans in and whispers something in Ritsuko's ear. Blushing, Akagi nods.

"Well, I guess that explains the drop," she says, "Commander?"

The commander's station rises, Pieter sitting and watching the proceedings as Fuyutsuki walks up next to him.

"Our very important guest is in my office," Pieter says, "He'll be watching the proceedings. Let's have Unit 00 and 02 engage the Angel. Let's not throw everything at it just yet until we know what it can do."

Misato nods, turning to Makato's console and pressing the communications button.

"Shinji, Kaworu. We're holding off on sending you two out until we know what the Angel can do. Rei, Asuka. You're on sortie. Get close to it and keep it off balance. Ready?"

"_Unit 00, ready for sortie."_

_ "Unit 02, ready for sortie!_"

Misato turns to the Commander, receiving an approving nod. She depresses the intercom button again.

"Evas Launch!"

_

* * *

_

***

***

_Eva?_

Beneath the entry plug, there is a sound not unlike a heartbeat. He can hear the presence in the back of his head, the soft tone of her thoughts. When he tried to describe interacting with Eva to Misato, she teased him on having a girlfriend. But it was not like that. It was…deeper.

Like she was family.

"_Hey there. What's up?_"

_I have a question._

_ "Shoot."_

_ Well…what _are_ you?_

There is a pause. For a moment, Shinji wonders if he has somehow offended her. This worries him, partially because he views her as a friend, and partially because it is never wise to offend a 200' tall biotechnological superweapon.

_"I'm the core consciousness of Unit 01. I thought we went over this."_

_ Well…okay. Are you the computer onboard it? You know, like an AI?_

_ "Do I sound like an AI to you?"_

_ I don't know what an AI would sound like, in all honesty. I've never met one._

_ "Then you can't rule it out. I could be an insane artificial intelligence plotting to take over the world."_

_ Okay…They told me that, when they first talked to you, after you woke up, that you were protecting your children. You have children?_

_ "Yep. I know, I look young for a mother."_

_ Are those the other Evas?_

_ "Eh eh. Think smaller."_

Shinji screws his face in confusion. He tries to think of something that Eva could give birth to that's smaller than the other Evas. Nothing comes to mind, except…

First Impact. That lecture Dr. Akagi gave him. A first Impact supposedly seeded life on Earth. If the Second Impact and the First were related, then…

_Humans?_

_ "Yep. I'm different from the other Evas, Shinji. They used Adam._

_ "Me? I'm Lilith."_

In the corner of his eye, a video screen pops up. Misato's face appears next to it, calling out numbers as Rei and Asuka move in to engage the Angel…

* * *

***

***

The Progressive Lance is a beautiful thing. Cosmetically modeled after the Lance of Longinius, currently kept on the Moon, it is a 300' long metal rod, strengthened by carbon nanotube binding to keep it flexible with a double sized Progressive Blade at the end. In theory, it is capable of extending an Eva's melee reach considerably, as well as cut with more force due to speed build up.

Naturally, it's Asuka's chosen weapon. Leaping a half mile, the power cord flapping in the wind as it crashes to the ground, she screams as she brings the entire length of the Lance downward in a diagonal arc, and cleaves the Angel in two.

_That should do it,_ she boasts to herself.

The Angel begins to divide, sickly red liquid, blood, sputtering out of it. Then it is to her shock, and in some part of her mind, realization, that said blood begins to solidify. The cores flash, and Unit 02 goes flying back, the lance dropping to the ground in front of the Angel as it splits into two separate angels. One orange with green highlights, the other green with orange highlights.

They move, kicking off their right legs with synchronized precision.

"_Oh, that is crap," _Misato yells, "_Asuka! Two angels!_"

Grinning, she pops open the sheathes for both progressive knives, twirling them in Unit 02's hands.

"Well, now this just got _interesting._"

She leaps, willing Unit 02 to split kick, striking both Angels in the head before turning in mid air and driving both knives towards their cores. They twist, the knives grazing armor and skin, both responding by clothes-lining the red giant. They advance, leaping at Unit 02 as it rolls onto the ground-

And hit a dome of crackling orange light as Unit 00 holds out both its hands, its eye glowing.

"_Don't. Touch. Her._"

The AT Field flashes, pulses, and throws both halves of Israfel back, launching it for miles through the air before they both crash head-first into the ground.

"_We're pulling you both back," _Misato announces, "_Activate your UV visual filters._"

A second passes, and then there is a flash of light where Israfel landed, a cloud of dust and debris thrown up by the N2 bomb explosion. The sky turns blue as a second blast goes off, then a third, as both Evas are retracted to the lifts.

* * *

***

***

"Well, the good news is, Rei's deploying her AT field like that shut down the Angels' long enough for the N2 mines to have a serious effect. At their current rate of regeneration, it will be four days until they're mobile again."

The hologram of the twin angels rotates as Akagi continues, walking around it while assembled in the small theatre that serves as a debriefing room, with Kihl sitting where the Commander would usually sit, on high.

"We are not attacking them as they are," she continues, "Considering what we know about Angel S2 organs, any overtly aggressive action on our part will lead to them speeding their regeneration and attacking. Put simply, we need these four days to enact a plan."

Slapping his hand on the Commander's station, Kihl stands.

"Very well," the Chairman says, "Enact your plan. Third Child. Walk with me."

He takes his cane and walks out. After a quick, questioning glance, Shinji follows. He gives himself a sniff, confirming that, yes, he still smells like stale blood, and so walks a slight distance beside the Chairman.

"You are Yui Ikari's child, correct?" Kihl asks.

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, I noticed. She was always respectful towards her superiors. Your father is not. That is one of the reasons I chose to not have him appointed as Commander."

Shinji nods, staring at the old man.

"There was a test," Kihl says, "Your father failed it. Sohryu did not. Tell me about Unit 01."

Shinji blinks, and after a moment realizes exactly what Kihl is asking about.

"Well, the Eva is intelligent. I'm able to talk with it when I pilot."

"I see…you are more eager to pilot than you were when you arrived?"

"I had no idea this was what I was called here for. Now, I…guess I don't mind."

Kihl makes a sound, somewhere between grunting acknowledgement and loose pipes.

"I will be keeping an eye on you, Third Child. Kaworu has taken an interest in you. He would not if he did not notice something _worth_ noticing."

Kihl continues walking, dismissing Shinji with a wave. He continues, walking through a pair of double automatic doors, his black suited guards appearing to escort him out. Sighing, Shinji turns and comes face to face with his father, his face unreadable.

"Let's go," Gendo says, "They're ready to begin."

* * *

***

***

"The problem is that the Angels are synched," Akagi explains, looking up as Gendo and Shinji walks back in, she, Misato, and Sohryu standing around the projection table, "Any damage done has to be done to both simultaneously. Observe."

The hologram shows the battle, Unit 02 split kicking both Angels and registering damage, but the slices from the Progressive Knives closing instantly.

"The N2 explosion was wide area enough to hit both at the same time, but an N2 mine can't destroy the core," Akagi continues, "We need to synchronize two Evangelions to attack both Angels at the same spots, at the same time."

"Well, that's simple."

Misato squarks, turning to find Kaji standing behind her.

"How did you do that," Sohryu asks.

"It's a gift," Kaji says, "Akagi, have you ever seen a synchronized dance number?"

Misato glares at him, pursing her lips.

"That's your plan," she asks.

"He has a point," Akagi says, earning a glare from Misato, "We need to find a way to make two pilots work in unison."

Misato's brow furrows, and stroking her chin she stands up straight.

"He does, actually," she says, "They had those teams back in college. After a few months training, they could get the team members to practically walk in step!"

"We don't _have_ a few months."

"I know, Commander. But those teams were just doing it for an hour a day. But if we use every waking moment for the next _four_ days, we can get the same effect!"

"I don't see any better ideas," Sohryu says with a shrug, "Okay. Who knows _how_ to train them?"

They go silent. Misato scratches the back of her neck, realizing that her brilliant plan, despite being workable, may need someone brought in from the outside, in addition to a generous amount of equipment.

"I do!"

They turn in unison to the open side door where Maya is standing with an arm full of print outs.

"You do," Akagi asks.

"I took credits in rhythmic dance when I was going for my Masters," Maya proudly responds.

"Works for me," Misato says, "Let's break into teams. Two pilots per team. Synch them together and sic'em on the Angel."

Sohyru nods, folding his arms and staring at the hologram.

"We can't break into a girl team and a boy team," he says, "Rei and Asuka work well together, but they're too different to really sync up. Rei and Kaworu will be Team 1. Katsuragi, Ibuki. You're in charge of training them. Shinji and Asuka will be backup. I'll take them, and I have…an idea. Ikari, are the simulation programs working?"

"Yes," Gendo says, walking up to the projector, "We just need a few hours to program data from the latest Angel."

"Good. Then that's the plan. We're taking out the Angel in four days."

* * *

***

***

There are sparks from metal grinding against metal as Unit 02's foot kicks against Unit 01's chest, sending the purple and green Evangelion sprawling backwards as Shinji yells out in the entry plug. He looses his footing, grunting as Unit 02 leaps onto his Eva's chest and rides him down the hillside like a sled.

It doesn't help that she's whistling german sledding songs while doing so.

"_Let's focus, kids,_" Sohryu says in Shinji's eye, "_Asuka! Stop screwing around!"_

Shinji grunts as he hits, grabbing handfuls of ground, stopping the slide suddenly and causing Asuka to yelp as Unit 02 flies off of him. He's going to _pay_ for that later, he knows. Still, he caught her off guard, which means he can press his attack.

_"Hit her again! Hit her again! Harder! Harder!"_

_ You're NOT HELPING, Eva!_

Unit 01 flips up, dodging a swipe from Unit 02's progressive knife. The purple giant brings up both forearms, blocking a roundhouse kick before grabbing Unit 02 by the leg and throwing it.

He takes a moment to catch his breath. The moment lasts too long, and Shinji yelps as Unit 02 headbutts him, dropping him to his seat before a kick to the face sends him flying. _This is not a good plan,_ he thinks, as his view becomes one of dirt and grass as his Eva lands head first.

_"Want help?_" Eva's voice chides.

_No._

_ "Spoilsport."_

He rolls out of the way of a Progressive Lance. Pushing off his arms, the Eva flies, spinning through the air before landing in a crouch…and Shinji's eyes go wide when he sees the five minute countdown timer. Looking over, Unit 02 waves, holding the severed end of his power cord in its hand.

In her other hand is a rocket launcher.

"Crap."

* * *

***

***

Sohryu winces as Unit 01 is sent flying by the explosion, sitting back in his seat as Unit 02 runs after it. Turning, Ikari stands next to him, watching his son get beat up by a girl with an impassive face.

"We need to get them to predict each other's actions," Sohryu says, "Any ideas?"

"Have they sparred? Outside of the Evas?"

"Tonight. I have an apartment set up for the three of us in the Geofront. News?"

Ikari clears his throat, opening a folder and handing it to Sohryu.

"The weapon designers for Jet Alone. They have a prototype weapon deemed unsuitable for Jet Alone, but suitable for an Evangelion. They will have it set up for Eva usage within three days."

"Got it," Sohryu mutters, "Status on Team 1?"

"Katsuragi is optimistic. Ibuki is optimistic."

"And in related news, water is wet," Sohryu mutters, "Okay, let's wrap this up. Shut down the links and cut the simulation."

The screen blinks out, going to a view of the Cages where Unit 02 and Unit 01 are set. On both Evas, the eyes cut their glowing, the Entry Plugs spinning out.

Running a hand through his hair, Sohryu slumps back in his chair. Someone has to be making progress, somewhere.

* * *

***

***

Their timing was slightly off. The routine was set, yes, and all the strikes and moves were set. But their synchronization was slightly off, and the missing distance between the two meant that Rei's punch was just off cue and hit Kaworu in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Currently, Rei is rocking back and forth on the futon in the apartment deep in the Geofront, trying to come to terms with many things. First, Misato off-handedly referred to the Fourth as her 'boyfriend.' That in and of itself disturbed her. She was not aware she was _that_ obvious in her concern for Nagisa. Second, she had just punched him out.

So she is also an abusive girlfriend.

"He's okay!"

She turns as Misato triumphantly enters from the bedroom, the Captain stretching her arms above her head.

"He's fine and he's awake," she says, walking over and ruffling Rei's hair, "Although I think that's it for training for tonight. You two are off to a good start."

The bedroom door opens. Holding an icepack to his jaw, Kaworu stumbles out, mumbling something as he slumps down next to Rei. Misato pats him on the head, getting his attention, looking up at her as she grins.

"We'll get back to this first thing tomorrow," she says, "Your mats are set up, so get a good night's sleep. Dinner's in the fridge."

She winks at him.

"Also, you clean my apartment, so don't do anything that makes me or the Commander have to kill you. I'll be across the hall if you need anything."

She walks out, whistling. Sighing, removing the icepack, he sits back, folding his hands on his lap. Turning to her, he smiles, and she slowly, shakily, smiles back.

"You're stronger than you look," he says.

"I am not entirely human," she responds, voice barely above a whisper, "I could have hurt you."

"I've been hurt worse. Mainly by Asuka."

He gets up, walking to the fridge, taking out a tupperware container and sticking it in the microwave. The apartment is sparse. There is no stove, no table, and the bathroom, while containing two sinks has only a shower stall. The bedroom has two bed mats side by side, presumably as part of the experiment, but they also believe Misato might be trying to pair them up.

She seems to be the type to do that, and does seriously need a hobby.

"I remember it, although fondly, these days," Kaworu continues, "It was…three years ago, I think. You, she, and the Commander were visiting NERV-Germany. I was training with Unit 04, and she was naturally bragging about Unit 02, and all the features it had and how superior it was. I explained to her that, since mine was newer, mine would be able to handedly put down hers in a fair fight. She called me something in German. Something involving a goat."

His face turns pensive, then turns to the microwave as it rings.

"What did you say," she asks, turning on the futon.

"It was a phrase that I had heard earlier and was stuck in my head. 'Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?'"

Her eyes go wide.

"I don't remember the beating," he says, "I was told that Mr. Kaji had to pull her off of me. She was dressed down by the Commander, Captain Katsuragi, and Mr. Kaji. Mr. Kaji, I remember, told her that what she did was immature and 'disappointing.' Her attitude changed after that, didn't it?"

"It did," Rei responds, "That is why. She has always been attached to Mr. Kaji."

He pulls the dish out of the microwave, taking a large plate. Sitting on the mat in front of the futon, he places the vegetables and noodles on the plate, and motions her over. And softly chatting, they eat.

* * *

***

***

There are vents in the roof of the Geofront and lights built in, to give the illusion of the moonlit sky to those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to live there. There is a large window in the bedroom, build into the outer wall of the great pyramid, that allows this artificial moonlight to shine through, and with his face to it, Kaworu tries to sleep.

He is empathic. It is a blessing and a curse. He can tell moods and work with them to talk with people, but at the same time he knows, _knows_ when they are hurting, even if he doesn't know _why._

He's slept better since Shinji returned from the Moon. The pain with him…lessened.

But now he finds himself staring at the ceiling. Turning, he looks to his room mate, his partner, on her side, her back to him. He can hear the faint irregularities in her breathing and the small tearing sounds of the sheets ripping under her fingers.

Sitting up, her narrows his eyes. On his hands and knees, he crawls over to her, touching her shoulder, before grabbing it and pulling her onto her back.

"Ayana-"

His question, which would have included after what is wrong, is cut short when her hands lash out and wrap around his throat. Eyes going wide, he grabs at her wrists, her sharp breaths in contrast to his own struggle as he begins turning blue.

Nightmare.

That's exactly what it is. Thinking quickly and with greater thought than he has any right to, his hand darts out and covers her nose and mouth, causing her to wake, her eyes going wide when she sees him, and more importantly _what she is doing to him_.

Her hands release, he collapses, gasping and wheezing as she sits up, eyes almost glowing in the moonlight, the color of her flannel pajamas, a gift from her sister, almost blending with the color of her skin.

Kicking off the blanket, she moves. She moves to dart out of the room, out of the apartment. The wind picks up and the bedroom door slams shut, and Rei pulls at the doorknob to no effect, turning, flattening her back against it as Kaworu rises, massaging his throat.

"I'm alright," he says, his voice cracking, hoarse, "See? I'm fine."

She presses her back against the door, shoulders shaking as he knees start to give way. She turns silent, head tucked down as Kaworu moves to catch her, gathering her in his arms and pressing her against him. She whispers apologies as he leads her back to the mats, both collapsing between them. Fingers running through her hair, he watches as her eyes close, her form going slack against him as she silently falls asleep.

* * *

***

***

Walking up the aisle, she ascends the podium as she is handed the Nobel Prize. Dressed resplendently, her faithful husband sitting at her table, she receives the statuette as the crowd cheers her on. Back stage, the mutilated corpse of her rival hangs, still burning from the earlier festivities where she was set on fire, as all the world cheers her on-

And then the ceiling cracks, becoming a blood red sky, as everyone stops, disappearing one by one, as two wings of white light manifest before her, the singing and celebration quieting down as she stares at the light-

And two pale hands wrap around her throat. She grabs at them, clawing at them, dropping the statue-her _prize-_ as the two red eyes in the light shine and she hears that terrible, awful, accusing voice-

"_HOW. DOES. IT. FEEL._"

Alone in the home, with only her daughter's cat as a witness, Naoko Akagi wakes up screaming. She doesn't go back to sleep for the next two days.

Deep in the geofront, Kaworu Nagisa smiles.


	16. Chapter 13

Lying in their bed mats next to each other, Shinji and Asuka stare at the ceiling. The Commander is not in the room per se, but he is either in the apartment or nearby. If Shinji was the type to try anything, he's pretty sure he wouldn't get very far before being cut down like an animal.

What's the expression he used?

_Touch my daughter and an Eva will _touch you.

He didn't say that to Shinji, of course. He trusts him more than that, and has said as much, especially after the festival. That, and it's well acknowledged that in such a situation, it's wiser to be scared of Asuka than the Commander.

"So, you're a Captain?"

She turns to him.

"What?"

"Kensuke told me you were a Captain."

She snorts, looking back at the ceiling.

"I was taught how to fly military aircraft as part of my training," she says, "It's sort of honorary. Rei doesn't have a rank, and I don't think Nagisa does, either. Technically, I could boss around soldiers if I wanted to."

He screws his brow for a moment, nodding.

"Only thing it really does is get me a slightly higher pay grade," she adds.

He turns to her, eyes wide.

"We get _paid?_"

**

**

* * *

"We're keeping the city partially evacuated in the Geofront shelters. People are being cycled in and out and are prepared for another full-scale evacuation. The main alternative we have if the plans do _not_ work is to call in a full nuclear weapon."

Sohryu grunts at Akagi's report, feet up on his desk. The sunlight is streaming through his office, his hands folded in his lap, and on his floating screen in front of him he's watching Asuka and Shinji spar.

"Is nuking it our only option," he mutters, "What about Unit 08? Has _anyone_ talked with Hadsiel about this one?"

"Hadsiel has told us that if he directly engages this Angel, the result would cause an Impact event," Ritsuko says, "He says some Angels are too close to the, and I quote, 'Oedjen' to physically engage. And yes, that does include using the Lance."

"Any way around that?"

She sighs, shrugging.

"He told me that he will be safe to engage Angels at will if he has a pilot. However, we've fed every single potential pilot's data into him and no one can synchronize. So either no one can pilot him-"

"Or we haven't found Unit 08's pilot, yet. Have we tried the Fifth's?"

"Same. Speaking of which, she will be on base in two hours for her first synchronization experiment. No training otherwise, because Rei's busy."

Sohryu nods, leaning back in his chair. He stares at her, noticing the slight undertone to her statement. He makes a motion with his hand, like a wheel turning, and putting the clipboard down, she leans on the desk.

"She had another panic attack last night," Ritsuko says, "She was woken up in the middle of a nightmare and tried to strangle Nagisa. Pieter, Rei has PTSD."

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?"

"My mother's encounter with her has brought up her memories of the attempted murder. It's…it's not severe. She can function, but these come up. She's probably been having nightmares for a while."

"She could have told me."

"We both know Rei is private about these things," Ritsuko says, leaning closer, "She wouldn't want to disturb you. But this isn't a problem we can _ignore._"

He cups his hands over his mouth, grunting out something Germanic and unpleasant. Furrowing his brow, several thoughts cross his mind, many of them unpleasant and most of those involving Naoko Akagi.

"We can't spare the time now. When this is over, _assuming_ we survive, I want you to find a way to fix this."

She nods, standing up straight.

"Sir."

"Now, get to prepping Unit 01. We're going to sync the Fifth to that one first."

She nods, turns, and walks out. He stares at her going, and turns back to the screen.

**

**

* * *

_Her left shoulder twitches a moment before she jabs. She favors her right leg for kicks, but uses her left for thrust kicks._

The idea was that neither should be able to land a hit. Start small, build big, and with Lieutenant Makato having set up all the cameras to record telemetry, they were trying to more or less fully record a sparring match between the two. See where they could improve, more or less.

A life more or less revolving around avoiding the spotlight and avoiding pain has left him capable of dodging. The twitch in her shoulder tells him to block, the shifting to her left tells him to fall back. He _has_ shown the ability to read her physical cues, and the padding they incorporated into their clothing- some sort of thin fabric that Ritsuko made up 'in her spare time'- keeps him from feeling the hits.

Of course, that doesn't help him when he trips up and her heel slams into his chest. The force is enough to make him lose his own unsteady balance and drop to the floor, groaning.

Misato purses her lips, folding her arms as she leans over Makato's shoulder.

"Captain?"

"Maya's supervising Rei and Kaworu," she says, "How much longer is Asuka going to beat up Shinji?"

"We're trying to coordinate telemetry," Makato sighs, "See if they can read each other. If they can, it gives them a chance as a backup team against the Angel."

Shinji blocks a roundhouse kick, dodging a jab and right cross, stopping a sweep with his foot. The sweep locks around his raised leg, and a palm to his chest sends him down again, the foot now resting on his chest as he groans.

"This is humiliating," Misato mutters.

"Weird."

She turns her to subordinate, whom rumor has wouldn't mind working 'under' her in varied ways.

"What?"

"I have these sensors hooked in with all the other sensors around the base," Makato says, "You know, so I can do my job while doing my job? Well, it's getting an anomalous reading from Terminal Dogma."

"The Artifact?"

"Yeah. Well, we're _always_ getting anomalous readings from the Artifact, though…"

He rises, slowly, painfully. He's going to be feeling that later, padding or no. Heaving in his breaths, he sees a momentary concern on her face before it sets again, Asuka lazily twisting her waist, stretching. Like she hadn't even started yet.

"Let's stop, Third," she says, her voice business like, referring to him by title, "You're not looking that great."

"No."

She purses her lips, cracking her knuckles.

"I mean it," she says, "We continue this, you're gonna get hurt."

"No," he repeats, "No. I'm not…I'm not…let's _go._"

She takes a step back, folding her arms out, fists closed, into a basic fighting stance. This is easy, she thinks, she taught him everything he knows. She can read him like a book. So, it's with no small measure of surprise when he falls back, moving fluidly into the motions as his arms whirl into a stance. Balancing on his right leg, left foot barely touching the mat, one arm chambered behind him and the other in a raised fist in front of him…which opens and he motions her forward.

Lip twisting down, she lunges forward, jumping at the last moment into a kick which he dodges, spinning as she lands into a back fist which he lightly deflects, grunting as she punches…

And he catches her by the wrist. It's that moment that she sees his eyes, and notices that something is _off,_ something is _wrong._ That she can't _read_ him like she normally could, and he looks far too calm and serene. His chambered fist strikes out, Asuka dodging, breaking his hold on her wrist as she strikes towards his chest. He blocks, catching the wrist, blocks and catches her other wrist.

She pushes off, kicking off of him, eyes narrowing before launching at him in a flurry of punches and kicks. He dodges, but the strain on his face is gone. His face is relaxed, like he is almost dreaming.

"How the Hell is he doing that," Makato asks, whacking the side of his monitor.

"What? You mean doing _well?_"

"No, it's the telemetry. We're monitoring heart rate and EKG, and I'm getting brain activity off of Shinji similar to REM."

She looks at him, screwing her brow in confusion. Tactics are one thing, but she prefers the occasional drawn out, simplified explanation.

"It's like he's _asleep._"

He blocks a roundhouse kick, taking a glancing blow to the chest in order to get her punch to go wide, moving in close as he grabs her arm by the elbow, blocking a kick to the stomach and locking his leg around hers, blocking a punch and grabbing her wrist. His face splits in a small, knowing grin as she looks on him in utter confusion-

And his arms move in a blur, and Asuka gets a moment to yelp in surprise before she face-plants on the mat.

Misato and Makato watch the entire scene in stunned, utter astonishment. In the recesses of thought, Shinji hears him says something about the telemetry going all wonky and that there is _no way_ someone could do that. All Shinji can really do, though, is stare at Asuka as she groans, and wonders, off hand,

_How the Hell did I DO that?_

They turn at the sound of a squeak. Well, Shinji turns, Asuka picks herself up off the mat and faces the sound. Still in her school uniform, holding an orange and black plugsuit under her arm, Hikari stares at the scene.

"Sorry," she says, "Am I interrupting?"

"We're done," Misato says, "Shinji, Asuka. Hit the showers and head over to the Commander. What do you need, Hikari?"

"I…um…need help with this."

She holds up the plugsuit, blushing, as Shinji scratches the back of his head and begins wincing as he realizes how many bruises he needs to have at this point. He avoids Asuka's gaze as she looks him over, and the red haired girl shrugs, patting him on the shoulder and smirking as he winces.

"Got lucky, Third," she says, "C'mon, Hikari. Unless you want him to watch."

Hikari blushes, and Shinji stares at them in confusion…and then waves his hands in front of him, blushing furiously as he backs away.

"Oh no. No no no. Not that I'd…I mean…well…"

"Well, what," Asuka asks with a grin.

"Touji would kill me!"

Asuka stares at him…and laughs, taking Hikari by the arm and leading her out.

"We'll make it a drinking game," Makato says, turning to Misato as Shinji stumbles out, "Every time Shinji shows he doesn't understand women, take a shot."

"_I'd_ get drunk on that."

**

**

* * *

_"Okay, we are at First Stage. Passing first border and prepping connections. You okay in there, Ms. Horaki?_"

The technician, Maya, has a nice, calm, relaxing tone. She can't help but feel at ease as they walk her through the instructions as she sits in the Plug, admittedly self-conscious in the plugsuit as she softly grips the butterfly controls.

This is Shinji's Eva. She can…feel him…in here. Asuka told her the details, about him being absorbed by it when he stopped the Sixth Angel. It does feel…she isn't sure, like she can feel a personality in it, even if this isn't the same plug he always uses.

"_Initializing LCL ionization process. Starting Entry sequence. Plug depth stable at default. Second Stage is go._"

She can feel her mind being…pulled, for lack of a better word. Some presence is with her, and even though Asuka has reassured her that there is no real, _real_ danger during the Sync tests, she can't help but grip the controls harder than she should. It is like a headache, like the worst headache she's even had.

Gritting her teeth, she closes her eyes and concentrates. Concentrates on single images, streamlines her mind, letting the pounding between her ears recede into background noise-

**

**

* * *

"Something's weird," Shigeru says, waving over Misato, "Unit 01's having some sort of feedback with the pilot. We've never cross sync'ed Unit 01 before, have we?"

She shakes her head, squinting at the data.

"What do we think?"

"Honestly? I know that Unit 01's not exactly normal for an Evangelion-"

"Think over that last statement."

"But it's _weird_ for an Eva. What I mean is that it seems…I dunno…ticked off?"

**

**

* * *

Hikari flinches. The pressure seems odd. It isn't comfortable in here, it doesn't feel right. On some level, she wants to get out…no, nix that. She _wants_ out of this thing, her breathing labored as her knuckles turn white. She shifts in the seat as the chatter dims down, feeling herself being pulled back, opening her eyes as there is a light, and-

_ Fine. Have it your way._

The pressure lessens, Hikari letting out a relieved breath as the entire plug shakes. Individual bubbles of her breath float in front of her, as she sees a memory playing in front of her, flickering like a projection screen. The memory of her walking into the gym, just as Shinji and Asuka were sparring, where Shinji managed to beat her.

_Hm…odd. Okay, that's all I need to know._

The plug lights up, the walls turning clear as the viewscreen appears in her eye.

_"Third Stage breached. Synchronization at 28%…synchronization requirements have been met! Unit 01-"_

The entire plug shakes as she squeaks. A camera feed from the cage shows her the Eva straightening up.

"_-Has activated!_"

Maya's face appears in her viewscreen, smiling in that gente, reassuring way that tells her that, no, she wasn't just almost eaten by a physical god-machine.

"_Great work! You almost beat Shinji's initial record! Just sit tight, and we're going to run some tests. You don't have to do anything else, Hikari, just relax, and try not to fall asleep._"

"Okay," she says, looking from side to side with a nervous smile. She swears, for a moment, she saw a smiling face in the LCL. Writing that off, she sits back, and waits.

**

**

* * *

"My mother says she can't sleep. She says she had a nightmare about someone trying to strangle her."

A snort as his fork twirls pasta around it.

"And here I thought my day was already going well."

Sitting at a small table in the cafeteria, Pieter and Ritsuko sit across from each other, Pieter mixing the meat sauce into his pasta and she pops the cover off of the salad. At a table across the cafeteria, Rei and Kaworu are eating in perfect unison, and they watch them for a moment, before turning back to each other.

"At least she takes care of my cat," she says, "She doesn't appreciate my lack of sympathy, but I think she's gotten easier to deal with since you brought her back in."

He grins. That _smile_ of his, as he sips his coffee.

"Anything to make my subordinates lives easier."

"There you are!"

They turn, watching as Asuka walks over with a tray of her own food. Uninvited but nonetheless welcome, she plops down in a chair and begins layering condiments on her sandwich.

"Where's Shinji," Sohryu asks.

"Moron's in the room. Said he needed time to 'think.'"

Pieter turns to Ritsuko, eyebrow raised in question.

"Shinji beat Asuka in sparring," she explains.

"…ask me, he's 'thinking' about my best friend in a plugsuit…"

"Misato _did_ say something was odd. His telemetry was off, and he seemed much more relaxed," Ritsuko continues, "I'll go over the data tonight."

Pieter sighs, leaning over and flicking Asuka on the ear. She yelps, says something unpleasant in German, and glares at her father.

"What did I say about holding grudges," he asks.

"If I hold grudges, you give me Rei's haircut."

"Correct," Pieter says with a mischievous grin, "Shinji beat you. That means you're an incredible teacher. Feel proud about that."

She thinks about that statement for a moment, and rolls back her shoulders, smiling, and pride returning to her.

"Good," he says, "It's a good idea to let the boyfriend win, every now and then."

And then she goes back to glaring at him.

**

**

* * *

There is a drawing in his hand. He had a headache, and the only way he found to release it was to take a piece of paper and draw on it. It was a sketch, some image burning into the back of his mind. An image of a monolith, a great slab of metal with a single gem, lines grooved into it, surrounded by archaic and futuristic technology at the same time.

The paper is crumpled and ripped, his knuckles white as he lays on top of his bed mat. His face is covered in sweat, brow creased with lines, and his mind is wandering. Wandering to another place, another time.

_It is morning. It is a house in the country, not one he remembers. A man is in front of him, calling himself Father, but not Father. His Mother is not Mother. There is someone coming. Something terrible._

_ Something that warps the sunlight around him, surrounded in darkness. He is coming. He is coming for him. He is coming to Complete that which he Was._

_ There is someone with him-the Chairman? The man Asuka was afraid of?_

_ The man Cloaked in Shadow is standing in front of him. Father moves to drive him away, but the Shadow-Man takes him and throws him away. Mother is holding him fast, watching the Shadow-Man with a smile that is not Mother's._

_ Now the Shadow-Man is looking at him. Now he is sitting down in front of him, and he is such a small boy he's only as tall as him sitting._

_ "I have been waiting for this for a very long time, Shinji," the Shadow-Man says._

_ Now he sees his eyes, through the Mask he wears. He sees they are His eyes. His own eyes, with all the pain, loneliness, and self hate._

_ "I will have my _son_ returned to me."_

And the shadows surround him, and-

Shinji wakes, screaming. It is not a startled 'Misato caught me with morning wood' scream or a 'Why is the Angel trying to kill me' scream. It is pure, utter terror that shakes him to the core, makes his eyes almost bug out of his head and leaves tears streaming down his cheeks.

It is a scream that, if anyone else were in the room, would have made them immediately want to either run away or smother him with a pillow. It is a scream that leaves his throat raw and his body exhausted, famished, and weak as it finally finishes.

"…Shinji?"

Weak, so very weak, so very sore, he only manages to move his head to the side and finds Asuka standing in the doorway. Her eyes are wide, and she is almost leaning against the door, and he realizes that she _saw everything._

"What was that?"

He says nothing in response to her question, trying to sit up, opting for rolling onto his side and forcing himself into a bent over kneel.

"What _was_ that," she asks again, her voice not much above a whisper, walking towards him with caution in her step, "Was that your father? If that was about your father I'm getting an _axe_ right now and-"

"I-I'm fine," he croaks.

"That's as f___ing _far_ from fine as I've ever _f___ing seen!"_ she screams.

He starts. Wincing, he grabs his head, sitting up and staring at her, staring past her. She sits down next to him, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling him to his feet, walking him out of the bedroom and onto the futon.

"Asuka," he croaks.

"You haven't eaten," she says, "I'm getting you dinner."

She takes a container from the fridge, tossing it into the microwave. He makes no more sounds, no more protests, just the sound of his steady breathing matching the ticking of the microwave timer.

**

**

* * *

"I guess I'd start at the beginning. When my mother died, my father sent me away to live with my uncle. He was my mother's little brother, actually. He was a teacher, so after he stopped teaching, he'd home school me. He retired a couple of years ago, before my father called for me."

He sits on the floor across from her, the container in front of him. She doesn't take any food or even glance at it as he eats, forcing down the dinner. She just watches him.

Is she worried, he wonders. She couldn't be, he tells himself. She's his trainer, his boss. She's never batted an eye when facing an Angel. Him having a nightmare shouldn't be that bad. She's easily the bravest person he knows. Hell, he _admires_ her.

She can't be worried about him.

"Wait, if he's younger than your mom, why did he retire?"

"Two reasons," he says, "Well, when he agreed to take care of me, my father made sure he was paid. Second, he…he was a good teacher, but he had problems controlling himself. I walked in on him flirting with students mothers…sometimes students, depending on how old they were. He was…he was an okay guardian."

"Distant?" she asks.

"Yeah. I figured out why, to."

"Why?"

He's silent for a moment. He draws up his legs close to him, narrowing his eyes.

"The sub commander showed me a picture of her. I look just like my mother. Whenever I was around, it just…it just _reminded them_ that she was gone. I remember my father, the night before he sent me away. He was…he was drinking, and screaming, and…"

She swears, in German, clenching a fist, looking like she's ready to march out and give Dr. Ikari a few minutes of her own time.

"I don't hate him," he says, "I don't blame him. When my mother died, something in him died, to. He couldn't take care of me, not by himself. I guess…I guess I pity him, more than anything."

"He doesn't deserve pity," she growls, "Not from you."

She grits her teeth, looking down, looking at the floor and the half empty container. Closing her eyes, clenching her fists, she opens them to find him slowly, painfully walking to the fridge, putting away the food.

"I don't think I had it too bad," he says, shuffling to the futon, "My father made sure we were provided for. I didn't really have a lot to worry about."

"Did you have any friends?"

He shakes his head, leaning on the futon and lying down.

"Any crushes? Hang outs? Anything fun?"

"I learned the cello," he says with a shrug.

She lays her hand on her face, shaking her shoulders. Staring at him through her fingers, she allows herself a small, grim chuckle.

"I can't believe it," she says, "If that was me, if that happened to me…"

"You'd be fine," he says, folding his hands on his chest, "You're stronger than me. You'd be fine."

His breathing slows, becoming a slow, steady snore as he falls into exhausted sleep. For a moment, for a brief, selfish moment, she considers retreating into the bedroom. She would. If she were different. If she had a past like his. But she was raised better.

Silently, she moves a chair over to the futon, sitting on it, tucking her legs underneath her. After a while, watching him, making sure whatever nightmare didn't return, she falls asleep, to.


	17. Chapter 14

Day 4.

"Here's what we're going to do," Sohryu says, sitting at his desk on high, as the screens in Central Dogma tick off the activation procedures for all four Evangelions, "Unit 00 and Unit 04 will engage the angels. Unit 01 and Unit 02 will hold back with the heavy artillery. We have one chance at this."

"Unit 00 is equipped with a variant of the C-Type equipment," Akagi says, standing at her station, "It doesn't have Unit 04's black boxes, but does give it firepower."

"_All Evangelions are activated and sync'ed. Unit 00 and 04 at launch catapaults. Angel is displaying movement._"

The viewscreen shifts to outside the city limits, the twin Angels slowly and in sync marching towards Tokyo-3. Next to him, Kozou is impassive. The screen shows each pilot in their plugs, faces unreadable.

"Commence the operation," Sohryu announces, "Evas launch!"

**

**

* * *

Alarms fill the air as the land opens, pylons thrusting out the Angels pause. With a rush of air, Unit 00 and Unit 04 rise, the orange cyclops covered in added plate, its shoulders stiffer and wider and bulbs covering its forearms similar to the silver giant beside it.

The air is silent, the world is still. Then, trucks on the hilltops surrounding the arena open their trailers, and the _music_ begins.

**

**

* * *

"This will either be brilliant or humiliating," Dr. Ikari says.

Misato stares at him for a moment, then grunts and pumps her hand in the air.

"Go team," she deadpans.

**

**

* * *

The Angel reacts first, their eyes lighting up and blasting out twin beams of purple light.

Exactly as planned. Both Evas cartwheel out of the way, vents on their forearms opening and letting loose a torrent of chaingun fire, hitting the exact spots on the twins and making them splatter out blue blood. Landing in identical crouches and leaping into identical flying side kicks to identical faces.

The Angel lunges, swiping at both with its claws, both Evas ducking, swaying, punching it in both cores, two lances popping from the ground and thrust into the same spot, just above the core.

Dodging claw swipes, they bob and weave in unison, ducking low under a head swipe before spinning and kicking up.

Two thrust kicks send the lances into both heads, launching the Angel up as both Evas take off into a run, leaping up and above the falling Angel before diving down, feet first.

The core cracks, red light and blood bursting out as the heels impact. Israfel bounces, reforming into a single being, rolling to its feet as it slowly, painfully rises.

**

**

* * *

"We did it," Kozou says with a grin.

"Don't count it until it's hatched," Pieter says, "Alright, get the cleanup crews ready, get the science crews prepped. I want it examined and-"

Alarms go haywire, the screen flashing new warnings. The reply screen from the MAGI flashes, all three computers lighting up.

"_Orange Pattern detected!"_

**

**

* * *

In the deep recesses of the Mind, Israfel realized it had lost. The fight was over. The reunion, the Complimentation, could not be achieved by it for the most base, humiliating of reasons:

The Lilim had outwitted it. It prepared to end itself, to end its existence. It brought inwards the Light of its Soul, bringing it deep into its core, to sever its presence and deny the Lilim the honor.

"_Israfel. Angel of Song."_

It appears as a pinprick of shadow, expanding out into a great cloud, coalescing into the form of a man cloaked in shifting, terrible shadow. There is music in the air, sound distorting around him and turning what was a beat into terrible whispers and choir song.

"_I have come to ask you a question. It is the most important question anyone shall ever ask you."_

Deep within the shadows, they can make out blood red armor, a featureless mask. From the recesses, they can see the glowing blue eyes as it floats above the Angel, and when he speaks, it is with terrible presence that they can all hear, as clear as a shout despite being no more than a whisper.

"_Do you want the power?_"

Israfel looks up. It accepts.

"_So be it._"

Light issues forth from the hand of the Shadow Man, enveloping Israfel. The Angel bends downward, gripping the ground. Eyes glow, wounds heal. Its form grows, a new set of arms splitting from its shoulders, as the flesh beneath its head splits into a mouth lined with swords-

**

**

* * *

"_Shifts in the AT Field. Field harmonics are increasing. 3.0. 5.0. There's a shift in pattern color type…Pattern Sepia!"_

Sohryu stands, taking off his glasses as he stares at the display.

"What the Hell's a _Pattern Sepia?!_"

"Full manifestation," Kozou says, as the bridge begins to rattle, "Power going off the scale, leading to more than the mind can contain without breaking. In other words-"

The mouth of the Angel opens, and rearing back, it screams. The roar is animalistic and high pitched, every member of the bridge crew staring at it in dumbstruck horror.

"Berserker."

**

**

* * *

Israfel moves. It leaps, faster than anything its size should, grabbing Unit 00 by the head and driving it into the ground, shrugging bullets off of its skin before turning and pulsing its AT field, driving Unit 04 back.

Alarms blare, and in a blur of purple and green, Unit 01 tackles the Angel, pounding its face with its fist before kicking off, flipping back as a hail of rockets from Unit 02 blasts it in the mouth.

"Well, this just went FUBAR," Asuka says, gritting her teeth as she wills the Eva to fire, "Misato, what was that about a prototype?!"

_"Prepped and heading up, Asuka. Shinji, get Unit 00 out of the fire zone. She's not familiar enough with the C-type to use it. Kaworu!"_

Kaworu's face blips into her line of sight, his face showing discomfort.

"_I need a minute to prep Unit 04 before I can bring my arsenal to bare. Buy me time._"

A chasm in the ground opens, a package shooting up, Unit 02 dropping the rocket launcher to grab it, the packaging falling away-

**

**

* * *

"Oh, you are _s___ing_ me," Pieter says, "They made that. They _seriously_ spent money to build that?!"

"It makes sense," Kozou says, raising an eyebrow in subdued surprise, "The Angels are most vulnerable to melee. So if you need something to inflict melee damage at close range…"

The screen shifts, prominenty displaying Unit 02, as it helfts up its new weapon. One hand in the trigger, the other around the grip, it starts the engine as Asuka's display shows her _grinning._

"…you can't do better than an Eva-scale _chainsaw._"

**

**

* * *

Teeth the size of cars spin, twin blades coming to life as Asuka charges, chainsaw at her side before she swings it towards and into the side of Israfel. Blue blood paints the hillsides, knocking over trucks, the mouth of the Angel open in a silent scream.

"_I love this weapon! I'm giving it a name!_"

An arm lops off, the extended, skin skeleton and claw crashing half a mile away, Asuka laughing as she brings the chainsaw over her head. In his plug, Shinji watches in concern. He makes a note to buy flowers once this sortie is over and they get back to Tokyo-3.

That, and to never make her angry again.

Following Maya's instructions, he quickly hits the release switch for the C-type armor, the extra bulk falling off Unit 00 before its eye lights up.

"Rei, are you alright?"

"_Your concern is noted and appreciated,_" Rei says, her portrait appearing in his eye, "_The Angel is not strictly in control of its actions anymore._"

The Shadowed Man is gone, and he watches, eyes going wide as Israfel wraps its arm around the chainsaw blade, digging two clawed hands into Unit 02's side. Asuka screams, feedback making her feet like she'd just been gored.

Unit 01 reacts. Leaping, he plants a foot into the Angel's face, making it release the red Eva. Swinging its fist, it breaks teeth, cutting its own armor, kicking it back as he grabs Unit 02 and pulls her back. Israfel's teeth break on the AT Field Shinji raises, holding it back before Israfel's own shatters it.

He makes a decision. He takes a chance. Throwing himself between the berserk Angel and Asuka, he plants his feet and braces to take the impact. It feels like his chest caves in, Shinji grunting, gasping as metal armor rends and bones crack deep within his monstrosity.

"_F___ this."_

Unbidden, Unit 01's fist slams into Israfel's jaw, Shinji's own pain-filled haze enough of a reason for _her_ to take over.

Unit 01 leaps, eyes glowing yellow, a bestial roar escaping its sealed lips as it begins pounding on the Angel, charging it and carrying it away from the wounded Unit 02. Its fists become a blur, pummeling the berserk Angel as it returns the favor, spearing it on its horn as it drives it across the field and down the Cliffside towards the water.

AT Field flashes against AT Field, claws digging into the armor of the purple Beast as the Eva's eyes flash, a struggle for control taking place within the grips of the monster's own mind. In the end, the right one winds.

AT Field pulsing, Israfel is suspended in the air, Shinji gripping the controls to reel her in-

As a blast of plasma hits the Angel, sending it reeling back.

"_Full weapon suite unlocked,_" Kaworu announces, "_Shinji, get Asuka to the lift. I can handle it from here._"

Hands replaced with massive, glowing barrels, its jet stripes now lit up with several vents for lasers, Unit 04 advances. With each step, chained poles slam into the ground, bracing it for every volley, letting loose blasts of solar fire and burning white light.

From its sides, missiles fire, blasting away chunks of skin, jets firing off of its back to keep it in place, to keep it from flying back from recoil.

He shuts his communications off, and in the plug, Kaworu glares at the Angel, standing tall as it advances.

"So it's come down to this," he says, "Israfel. Fallen to the darkness like so many of your brothers…like so many of _our _brothers. This ends _now!_"

Triangulating the targeting systems, he opens fire on the cores, blasting open the AT field as the Angel towers over him, vaporizing chunks of flesh. Fire and light roasts the skin as it takes labored steps forward, the light enough to cast his own shadow in the Plug.

"I've had enough," he says, "We are _all_ responsible for this. All responsible for the tragedy that created us! By the time we looked up and saw what we had become, it was _too late._ Others saw it, but their response was inflammatory at best, _insane at worst!_"

Blasting holes through its entire body, lasers boring through, Israfel lights up like a sun. Towering over Unit 04, LCL drool dripping from its jaws, its eyes glow.

"What we've come from is _testament_ to our foolishness. A reminder of our short-sightedness. And what our brother Zeruel plans is nothing better than _genocide,_" he shouts, "There are no winners if we continue this war."

Chunks go flying off into the sea, light seeping through the wounds like wings of white sunlight. Its face centers on Kaworu's own, and narrowing his eyes, he wills his Eva forward into its embrace.

"Part of me was afraid," he says, his voice level, "Part of me feared trying again. But part of me _never left_. Not like you did. Not like our brothers did. This will not be like last time. There will be no half measures. There will be no retreats. This time, I will _choose,_ not hide by the illusion of choice and free will."

Dropping the cannons, two long blades pop out of Unit 04's wrists.

"And this time," he says, "I _choose the Lilim!_"

And he drives the blades into both cores. The light in Israfel's eyes dim, the arms going slack. And with nothing more than a groan, Israfel slumps…and explodes.

**

**

* * *

"Angel has gone silent," Maya says, "Unit 04's telemetry coming in, communications restored with the pilot."

Kaworu's face appears, smiling, as a scorched and red Unit 04 walks from the flames.

"_My apologies. I had to concentrate to keep the weapons suite in check._"

"Warn us, next time," Misato growls, "Okay, retrieve the pilots. Tenth Angel is _dead._"

**

**

* * *

Kaworu Nagisa finishes buttoning up his shirt, sighing as he is finally released from this four day confinement and allowed once more to have a life outside of the Geofront. Placing the plugsuit in the slot leading down to the cleaning facilities, he closes the locker, turns, and comes face to face with Rei.

"Were you watching me change?" he asks.

"No."

She smiles, faintly, as he pulls on his shoes, the lights in the locker room flickering slightly.

"I think the plan worked," he says, "Until whoever that was showed up. We made a good pair, Ayanami."

"We do."

He stands up, dusting himself off, and smiles.

"Did you need something?"

She then grabs him by the front of his shirt, pulls him with surprising strength, and kisses him. It is sudden, it is not exactly by his choice, but it is not unpleasant. He returns it in earnest, hands in her hair, thanking whatever God is above neither of them are in their plugsuits, and letting the kiss linger for a long moment before he realizes she has now lifted them both off the ground.

She releases, ending it first, a blush creeping up her alabaster features, before floating back and disappearing.

And smiling, his own features reddened, he walks past a dumbstruck Shinji and out of the locker room.

**

**

* * *

Cleanup takes time, and that means that Dr. Ikari would be inconvenienced. So, Maya was volunteered to take over his usual duty of checking in on Dr. Sohryu. Humming to herself, she walks down the corridor of the infirmary towards the suite set up for the Commander's wife.

"Good morning," she says, walking in, holding a clipboard, "How are we today, Mrs. Sohryu?"

She looks up with her ever-present smile…

Which disappears and she drops the clipboard, before grabbing the phone next to the door and dialing the Commander's office.

**

**

* * *

In Class 2-A, Asuka is woken up from her well-deserved nap to her cell phone beeping. It is the next day, and of course Saving Humanity takes a back seat to standardized learning. She wonders why in God's name she went to college if _this_ is her everyday life. Taking it out of her bag, she looks at the screen as a text comes up.

GET TO THE INFIRMARY. NOW. –DAD.

Eyes go wide. She knows what it means. Grabbing her bag, she bolts from her chair and runs. She doesn't pay attention to anything else, darting down the hall, running down the street, not stopping for lights or cars as she sprints to the entrance to the Geofront and leaps down escalator and stairs, skidding into an elevator and mashing the button.

Legs are burning and she's pacing. Remembers hearing yelling – Rei probably followed. Her running like this means one thing, especially since she probably got the message, to.

Doors open, and even with the soreness she takes off in a sprint.

Nurses shout at her and doctors get out of the way as she runs down the infirmary hallway, almost falling as she skids to a stop and forces open the door.

"Dad!" she shouts, "What's wrong?! What did…"

She stares, eyes wide. Eyes watering, she looks at the assembled people. Her father, Dr. Akagi, Dr. Ikari, and Maya. And someone sitting up on the bed, turning to her.

"Asuka?" the tired, pained voice asks.

A voice no one's heard for seven years.

All Asuka can even say, to express every thought raging in her mind, is a single, questioning, hopeful word as the tears begin streaming down her face.

"Mama?"

Rei and Shinji burst in.

"Asuka, what happ…ened?"

He goes silent as well. Rei says nothing, stoic as always, except for a small, knowing smile on her face as she takes her brother by the shoulder and moves him aside. Asuka takes a tentative step forward.

Like any moment, she's going to wake up. Doing nothing to disturb whatever dream this could be, she takes soft, shaky steps, as Maya closes the blinds, the light no longer silhouetting the woman sitting up on the bed.

Ignoring everyone else, Asuka reaches out, touching the face so much like hers. Behind the mask of years, despite a body weakened by being prone for seven years, Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu takes her daughter's hand and squeezes it. A smile crosses her features, time itself seeming to stand still for a single, perfect moment.

Daughter rushes into her mother's arms, and for the first time in nearly a decade, Asuka allows herself to cry.


	18. Epilogue

The moon is hanging low, tonight, and the stars are out. For the first time in four days, Shinji has an undisturbed view of the night sky, as cicadas chirp in the distance and he leans back on the bench on the building's roof. The celebrations are in full swing. Upon the Angel's death, Misato was promptly promoted to Major, and it was naturally decided everyone was going to get hammered.

Secondly, it was decided that there had to be a celebration concerning the Commander's wife waking up, and Shinji's father is now officially the Commander's favorite person. So, after quickly getting her cleared to come home, they're added that event onto the promotion as a reason for getting pissed.

"Hey."

He turns, smiling, as Asuka clears the last steps onto the roof.

"Hi," he responds, "I thought you'd be downstairs."

"Dad's 'monopolizing' Mama's time," Asuka says, and shudders, "Yeah, so I didn't want to get to see that. That and Kaji's hitting on Misato. I needed some fresh air while they choke on innuendo."

He folds his hands on his lap.

"I thought you liked Kaji."

"Used to have a crush on him," she says, "Not so much, anymore. Well, that and Dad told him, in detail, what he'd do to him if he ever returned my flirting."

"'Touch my daughter and an Evangelion touches you?'"

"Pretty much."

They chuckle, lightly, Asuka sitting down next to him and slumping back. She leans back, looking at the stars, watching the lights in the sky, bits of vaporized Angel falling like light snow over the city.

"She'll want to meet you," she says, "You know, she knew your Mom. They worked together, back when we were babies."

"Has she met Rei?"

"Not yet. I think she's…busy…with Kaworu."

"Yeah…about that…"

"I walked in on them, to," Asuka says with a chuckle, "I…I dunno. She's my sister, but…I didn't always get along with him. I wonder what she sees in him. But, he's been there for her when I couldn't. Maybe I should give them a chance."

She turns to him, pursing her lips.

"What about you?"

"What about _me?_"

"Well, yeah," she says, folding her arms, "She's _your_ sister, to."

He sits up, scratching his head.

"Wait, now this is my problem, to," he asks, "Doesn't that make me your brother?"

She pales, then glares at him.

"That's _sick!_ I'm not dating my brother!"

They stop, stare at each other, and scoot slightly to their respective sides of the bench. She fumes, face turning crimson as he flashes back to both his previous statements and the prospect of her with a chainsaw.

"Dad called you my boyfriend."

"Your father said that if I hurt you, he'd hunt me like a rabbit."

"He doesn't deal well with the fact that I'm a woman."

"But…but you're my age!'

"I grew up fast!"

She fumes again, as he moves to leave. Instead, her hand clamps on his wrist and keeps him in place. Sighing, he sits down, both of them silent for a long, steady moment, before he takes the initiative, pulling her over and putting his arm around her shoulder.

"I…I don't know about a girlfriend," he says, "But I like having a _friend._"

She smiles, laying her head on his shoulder. Something clicks in her mind. Something from some other time, about how it's not possible for people to understand each other.

Well, look at them now.

They seem to be getting along just fine.

**

**

* * *

Doctors orders. Nerve damage from a combination of her suicide attempt and her seven-year lethargy means she will walk with a walker or some sort of support brace, but until the physical rehabilitation is done, Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu, PhD, will be consigned to a wheelchair. Thankfully, NERV-1 is wheelchair accessible, and as soon as she is cleared she will be in Project E. Still, that will be a while.

For right now, there were more important things to get done.

It's been at least five days since Commander Pieter Sohryu has seen the inside of his apartment, much less his bedroom. Right now, he's not sure if he ever wants to leave. A colleague once told him his wife had 'more curves than the Autobahn,' and after seven years absence he sees what he meant.

His bedroom has seen better days, and the bed might need to be replaced by something bigger. There is a blueprint of the NERV pyramid signed by the original staff hanging framed over the bed and a framed picture of him, Kyoko, and a baby Asuka on his night table.

The television hanging on the wall is droning, but he doesn't notice. His wife is sleeping, still in the gown they got out of mothballs, white and frilly, and her head is on his chest. They thought about consummation upon her return home, but then thought better of it.

Why soil such a reunion when the mere presence is enough for them?

He never had a greater goal in mind. When he accepted the post of Commander, he was told it was…refreshing…that he wasn't pursuing his own agenda. Well, he was. He fooled them all. He had something that he wanted out of his participation.

He wanted a better world. He wanted his children to be happy, even with everything he had to do. Then he saw his daughter crying in joy.

Mission accomplished.

"God's in his Heaven," he says, pressing his lips to his wife's forehead, "And you are here."

**

**

* * *

Opening her eyes, she looks out at the stars. She's found herself doing that a lot, lately. Like the stars have some meaning, some inkling of why she dreams what she dreams. Other lives, maybe. Things that could have been.

That one nightmare, where she runs home and finds Mama swinging from the light fixture. She woke up screaming more than one time from that, and it took Rei to calm her down. Always, it takes Rei, because Rei stopped it, because Rei was waiting for her when she _did_ get home on that day where they took Mama away to the hospital…

But that's not even the weirdest dream. Not even the most terrifying nightmare. She has other dreams, of being other people. People of greater import, lesser importance. Being worshipped on an altar, being a housewife with a child.

And all of them end with her dying. And all of them with someone there, mourning her. It wasn't until the Angels came that she realized she _knew_ that person, somehow, even through the fog of lucid dreaming…

"Ow," she mutters, shifting in her seat, "Cramp. I overdid it when I ran, didn't I?"

She doesn't really expect a response, craning her neck. Easing his arm off her shoulders, she lets it fall to his side, leaning back on the bench as she lets off a contented yawn.

"Been too long a day," she groans, "Ready to turn in?"

Silence. Complete silence, and nothing to mark a response.

"Shinji?"

She turns, turning to him…and stops. Sitting on the bench, facing forward. His eyes are open, blinking, but unfocused. Grabbing him by the shirt, she turns him to her, looking in his eyes, seeing the…_lack_ of presence there and responding the best she can.

By smacking him. She expects a reaction. She expects him to make a grunting sound, blink, and ask her what the Hell she's doing, but there is _nothing_ in his reaction, not even his head recoiling.

"Shinji," she asks, panic edging into her voice, "Shinji? Wake up!"

She pats him on the cheek again, and he almost falls on her, Asuka pushing him down on the bench.

"Shinji?! C'mon, say something!"

She shakes him, checks his pulse, checks his breathing, turning towards the stairwell and screaming her sister's name. With a flicker of the air, Rei appears, still floating, still in her pajamas.

"Rei, _get Misato! Get Dad!_"

Rei nods, and disappears, as Asuka pulls Shinji up, staring into the blank, empty eyes. As if it could tell her what she needs. Tell her what has happened. Tell her where the mind of this boy that quite frankly is _confusing her_ has gone off to…and sees an answer somewhere in his blank gaze.

One that chills her to the bone.

A single name comes to her lips. A single forgotten name that she whispers, before her head starts throbbing and she pitches forward, collapsing on the cement rooftop as help finally arrives.

**

**

* * *

Deep within the Geofront, within the Cage, the core of Unit 01 stirs. Sitting at a picnic table and watching it all happen, Eva bites her lip in worry, folding her hands in front of her.

"It's not fair," she says, "We shouldn't have to do this to them. They've already been through so much."

She watches as Asuka wakes, holding her head, as Dr. Akagi examines the boy. She watches where he has _truly_ gone, biting her knuckles as she hears the screams and cries, before dissipating the images as she brings her fist down on the table. Around her, trees rustle in the wind of her anger, as the grass rustles and the Other approaches.

"I don't like it either, Eva," the Other presence says, "I don't like that it has to hurt. But it does have to hurt. It will make him stronger. It will make her stronger. If they want any hope against the greater evil out there, they have to be better than they've ever been."

A rustle of white, as the Other comes up behind her, playing with her hair. Relaxing her.

"We can prevent it," the Other says, "We can keep them from breaking. We've already started. No sniping, no bickering. Two of them may even have found happiness. He may, as well. Maybe even with you."

The image flashes of Shinji in a hospital bed. Dr. Ikari looks over him, impassively, for a long moment…before sitting down next to his bed and staring at his own clasped hands.

"He doesn't deserve this," Eva says.

"He never did. But he's strong, Eva. He's stronger than his father. He's stronger than me. There's depths to him that he never imagined. That's why we changed things this time around."

The hands, the Other's hands, thin and dainty and feminine, rest on Eva's shoulders.

"But to do that," the Other says, "First my son has to learn the _truth._"

**End Episode 2**

**To be continued in**

**Episode 3:**

**Failures of Communication**


	19. Author's Notes

**Some Author Notes:**

Well, that's part two. How long this series is going, I don't know, but I'll try to squeeze a few Instrumentalities into it. Some things to get off my mind before I start Episode 3.

**ACC's**: I've never created an Author Created Character in a fanfic, at least not one like Pieter. My main worry is that I don't want Pieter Sohryu comes off as perfect or godlike, even if he's one of the central characters. Pieter technically is from the Anime, as in there he's a piece of s___ who cheats on Kyoko with her doctor, at one point having sex where Asuka can hear them. As we can tell, Pieter here is not like that. Here, he's a father of two children whom are more or less his entire world, but he still has to risk every time an Angel shows up. He's devoted to his until recently comatose wife. He's cordial, respectful, but something of a smartass every now and then. Also, he's never named in the Anime or Manga. As for personality, I asked myself "What if Captain John Sheridan ran NERV" and went with it from there, although I am a fan of Dual, so there is some Ken Sanada in the mix.

Hadsiel's also another tricky issue. I don't like Mary Sues or Marty Stus, and as much as I try to keep Pieter from being perfect, it's sort of tricky to introduce what's essential the Mary Sue equivalent of an Evangelion and keep it from blowing up in my face. Because that's what Hadsiel is. He's more powerful, more intelligent and more or less one of the lynchpins on why things are so different this time around. However, I have the excuse that he's 200' tall and possibly older than the physical universe.

Eva's not _technically_ new. She's actually based on someone. One of the reviews figured it out. I run with that later.

Actually, she's also based on how they used the Berserker system in the Manga. In the Manga, Unit 01 loved Shinji in a prison sort of way.

The Shadowed Man isn't an ACC, either. You'll see why. Trust me.

**AU:** I'm an inherently cheerful person, and this reflects that. I'm still going to traumatize some of the characters plenty, but it'll be different. Consider:

Asuka: Now a better adjusted character. Why? She has a stable family upbringing. She had a sister to balance out her more…temperamental moods. I read _Once More with Feeling,_ and there's a scene in it where someone explains to Shinji that when they were toddlers, Asuka and he were playing at the GEHRIN daycare. It ended with Asuka grabbing Shinji's toys and whacking him over the head with it. That's her in a heartbeat, especially before the tragedies. Yes, she's a brat, but now she's a brat without a horrifically (or hilariously) traumatic childhood. In fact, outside of Hikari, she may be the closest to sane of the entire cast this time around.

Shinji: More of a neophyte than before. Now _everyone_ had a happier childhood than him, but because everyone's better adjusted, he's happier, to. He has a girl(?)friend, is respected, has been told right out that he **saved the world,** and is reconnecting with his father, to an extent. It helps that the core sentience of his giant mecha is a cute girl, although he does have guilt issues over Touji's sister and plenty of issues otherwise. He's a good kid with a crappy childhood, and has a whole lot of baggage hanging over him, but he makes the best of it. I haven't done much with him and Misato, but will next episode.

Rei: Hikari's good cop, Asuka's bad cop, and Rei's forensics. Yes, I read comic books, and Rei has superpowers because of it. She gets more as the story goes on. However, she's probably the most traumatized of the pilots because of the environment, mainly due to her attempted murder when she was nine. She has PTSD. What sort of sick bitch gives a nine year old girl PTSD? There's also the fact that she's probably the single most powerful living being on Earth, and I'm still trying to think of a way to describe her full Angel form, outside of 'Look for the parallel lines intersecting and move out from there.'

Dr. Gendo Ikari: A reviewer got it right. This is a Gendo who's without supreme power, missed his goals, and maybe, just maybe, is trying to find redemption by reconnecting with his son. He isn't hated; he's pitied, because in all honesty he deserves pity. Also, remember that as just the head of Project E, he's not scrutinized nearly as much as Pieter is. He can get away with a lot behind SEELE's back.

Ritsuko: I realized midway through this episode that Doctor Akagi would probably throttle her Anime counterpart, and especially shoot her Manga counterpart. Why? Because Doctor Akagi is, in this story, more or less Rei's mom, in spirit if not biology. And yes, she _is_ in love with Pieter, much like the canon version's in love with Gendo, but the difference is that she has her mother around to constantly remind her of _what_ she can become if she followed in her footsteps: Acidic, hated, and alone.

Naoko: Take everything unpleasant about the Anime and Manga version of Ritsuko and amplify it. Mix, stir, pour. Can she be redeemed? Yeah. It'll cost her, though.

Kaworu: Dear Lord, Kaworu. Our white-haired pretty boy knows a whole lot more than he shows.

**Running Gags:**

I like humor. I especially love humor in a place that seems out of place. From Mari using the **Drill that will pierce the Heavens** while trashing Berlin to Kaworu discussing his first date with Rei with the Chairman of SEELE. I figured if, given a chance, Asuka would kick an Angel in the nuts if she was pissed off enough, and that Pieter would by this point have a high tolerance for weird shit. I also found I used the same lines of dialogue very often:

"Touch my daughter and an Eva touches you."- Pieter's standing threat to anyone dating his kids.

"Maya will kill him if he tries anything."- Maya being Gay for Ritsuko is canon, practically. Whether or not Akagi realizes this, on the other hand…

"I took credits for it in college."- Maya knows everything. EVERYTHING. Rhythmic dance, education, auto repair. She took credits for it in college.

And Asuka's new Chainsaw will show up again.

**Cliffhangers:**

It's an addiction. But let me ask you this:

If Lilith is under Hadsiel's care on the moon…

What is in Terminal Dogma?


End file.
